2024 Shangla bombing | |
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Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Anti-China terrorism in Pakistan | |
Location | Shangla District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
Coordinates | 35°19′02.16″N 73°11′35.78″E / 35.3172667°N 73.1932722°E |
Date | 26 March 2024 |
Target | Chinese construction labor of Dasu Dam |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
Deaths | 7 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 0 |
On 26 March 2024, in Bisham Tehsil, Shangla District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, a suicide bomber attacked a bus transporting five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver on their way to the Dasu Dam, killing all of them.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The bomber rammed an explosive-filled car into the bus that was travelling from Islamabad to Kohistan on the Karakoram Highway.[7] No group took responsibility for the attack.[4] The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan also rejects Afghan involvement in the attack.[8]
This was the third attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan in the past week, as a Pakistani naval base and a port used by China were also attacked by Baloch separatists. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan told Chinese nationals in Pakistan to stay alert.[9]
Aftab Khan Sherpao, Central Chairman of Qaumi Watan Party, expressed concern in a tweet, saing that the attack was "proof of the rising tide of terrorism."[10]
On 29 March, Chinese investigators arrived in Pakistan to join a probe into the attack.[11] On 1 April, Pakistani police said that they had arrested 12 people in connection with the attack.[12]
On 23 May, the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet decided to pay USD 2.58 million to the families of Chinese workers that died in the attack.[13]
As predicted in my earlier tweet Chinese engineers have not only stopped work in Dassu but also in Basha and Tarbela. Chinese high powered delegation is in Islamabad to review the security situation. Discontinuation of work for a longer period will not only affect the completion dates but also escalate the costs. It is for the Pakistani Govt to alley the apprehensions of the Chinese Govt and review/ reset it's security apparatus as there is no more room left for negligence