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Rachel Zhang

India has denied being involved in the bus attack that killed nine Chinese nationals last month in Pakistan, rejecting the accusation made by the Pakistani authorities.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs rejected Pakistan’s allegation and called it an attempt at “peddling lies and propaganda”.
“This is yet another attempt by Pakistan to malign India, in a bid to deflect international attention from its role as the epicentre of regional instability and a safe haven for proscribed terrorists,” a ministry statement said.
India and Pakistan have long been hostile to each other due to territorial conflicts over the Kashmir region since 1947.


The bus was on its way to the Dasu hydroelectric project – part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being built in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – when the blast happened. Thirteen people, including nine Chinese, were killed and dozens injured, with at least 28 Chinese among them.
Beijing urged the Pakistani authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the incident and to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (known as the TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban) was accountable for the attack, with involvement from two spy agencies, India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS).
“As per our investigation, Afghan soil was used for this incident,” Qureshi said. “About its planning and its execution, we’re seeing a clear nexus between the NDS and the RAW.”
Javed Iqbal, Pakistan’s deputy inspector general of counterterrorism police, said that the evidence found during the investigation showed that the TTP planned the attack in Afghanistan and senior officers from the RAW and the NDS directed them, also in Afghanistan.
Security fence at Gwadar port creates new tensions for China, Pakistan
In response to the investigation, China on Friday called for coordinated efforts in the region to rid it of terrorist organisations, without naming any country or group.
“China firmly opposes any force using terrorism to seek geopolitical gains and calls on countries in the region to collaborate in eradicating all terrorist organisations so as to uphold common security and development interests of all countries,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Security has been a concern for Beijing’s investments and projects in the region.
In 2019, a group of gunmen attacked a hotel overlooking the Gwadar port project, which is also part of CPEC. At least nine were killed.
In April, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide blast at a hotel in Quetta that was hosting Chinese ambassador Nong Rong, who was not present. The blast killed five people.


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China-India relations

India denies involvement in bus blast that killed Chinese workers in Pakistan

An Indian spy agency was accused by Pakistan of being involved in the attack on a bus that killed 13 people last month. Photo: AFP

After Dasu bus blast in Pakistan, Chinese workers on go-slow over lax security, terrorism fears

People pray for the victims of the Dasu terrorist attack at an August 4 ceremony held at Barseen residential camp. Photo: SCMP Source

A commemorative plaque at Barseen residential camp names the victims of the July 14 terrorist attack. Photo: SCMP Source

The site of the July 14 blast in northern Pakistan. Photo: Xinhua

An injured Chinese worker is transported to hospital after a suicide attack on a bus carrying them to the Dasu Dam construction site. Photo: EPA-EFE

China-Pakistan alliance in Afghanistan worries India, as Taliban offensive continues

Chinese and Pakistan foreign ministers Wang Yi (right) and Shah Mahmood Qureshi during their meeting in Chengdu on July 24. Photo: Xinhua

FILE - In this June 23, 2021 file photo, Afghan militiamen join Afghan defense and security forces during a gathering to mobilize local militias across the country to try to stem the tide of the latest Taliban gains, in Kabul, Afghanistan. In an interview with The Associated Press Thursday, July 22, 2021, Suhail Shaheen, Afghan Taliban spokesman and a member of the Taliban negotiation team, said the insurgent movement does not want to monopolize power, but there won't be peace until there is a new, negotiated government in Kabul and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is removed. Shaheen said women will be allowed to work, go to school, and participate in politics but will have to wear the hijab, or headscarf. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Pakistan bus blast: why is anti-China terrorism suspected, who is behind it and what do they want?

Pakistani rescuers inspect the scene of a blast on a bus carrying Chinese engineers to the Dasu dam in Kohistan, Pakistan. Photo: EPA

People wheel a gurney towards an ambulance outside a hospital in Dasu, after a bus with Chinese nationals on board plunged into a ravine in Upper Kohistan following a blast, Pakistan July 14, 2021 in this still image taken from video. REUTERS/Reuters Tv

News

China

Diplomacy


New Delhi accuses Pakistan of trying to deflect attention from it being ‘the epicentre of regional instability and a safe haven for proscribed terrorists’
Thirteen were killed in the July 14 attack on a bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani workers to the Dasu hydropower project



New Delhi accuses Pakistan of trying to deflect attention from it being ‘the epicentre of regional instability and a safe haven for proscribed terrorists’.


Pakistan

Terrorism