IN yet another despicable incident, a Chinese national was shot dead and two others were injured on Wednesday after an unidentified assailant opened fire inside a dental clinic in Karachi’s Saddar area.
Both Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah whilst denouncing the incident ordered the investigation be completed immediately and the culprits brought to justice.
We have no doubt in saying that this can only be the work of those elements who do not and cannot see friendship between Pakistan and China growing and achieving new milestones.
This is the reason that time and again they keep attacking the Chinese nationals in Pakistan, especially those engaged in the CPEC project to undermine this relationship.
In April, three Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide attack outside the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute.
In July last year, a bus carrying engineers to a construction site near a dam was hit by a bomb killing 13 people including nine Chinese workers.
Regardless of these incidents, the Chinese side has never halted work on important projects in Pakistan rather also gave the message of collectively fighting such terrorist elements which we believe have the backing of foreign forces.
Indeed, such are the strong bonds between the two countries that these cowardly attacks cannot create cracks in the time tested and all weather friendship.
However, responsibility rests with our authorities concerned to ensure security of Chinese nationals at all costs.
Whilst ensuring that the culprits of the latest incident are apprehended at the earliest, it must be ensured that such an incident does not recur.
Further enhancing cooperation in different fields and completing the ongoing projects at the earliest will be the best slap on the face of terrorist elements.
In fact, our enemy does not want to see Pakistan making forward march on the path of development.
This is why it always tries to hurt our interests. Time has come to not only expose this enemy, the evidence of which has already been submitted with the United Nations in the form of several dossiers, it is also for our authorities concerned to crush the remnant terrorist elements for durable peace in the country.