Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the government is alert to all internal and external threats, adding that the nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and it will not allow the scourge to rise again.

In a tweet, the prime minister said he was deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack. He also directed the ministry of interior to hold an in-depth investigation into the bomb blast incident and consider all aspects in this regard.

Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said the suicide blast in a Quetta hotel, which claimed five lives and injured 11, was carried out to destabilize Pakistan as the enemies could not digest its progress.

It was a suicide attack by the forces inimical to the country’s development, to disrupt peaceful environment in the Balochistan’s capital, he said while addressing a press conference.

Sheikh Rashid said six of the 11 injured had been discharged from hospital after treatment while two were in a critical condition. A forensic investigation is being conducted into the attack and the terrorists had not yet been identified, he added.

The minister said he had directed the Balochistan chief secretary to investigate the incident. The ministry of interior has directed all the 22 law enforcement institutions under it, including the FC, Rangers, Coastal Guards and others, to remain on high alert, he added.

He said Balochistan and Gwadar are important for the country’s progress. Gwadar is in fact the future of Pakistan, he added.

The minister said the external elements are trying to destabilize and disrupt peace in Pakistan. “Some 200,000 to 300,000 social media accounts were created in India in last 10 days to carry out anti-Pakistan propaganda. The foreign forces cannot see Pakistan progressing,” he added.

He said Pakistanis are a great nation, who with the help of their great armed forces and intelligence agencies, have already defeated the terrorists backed by foreign forces and will again thwart all the evil designs and conspiracies being hatched in India against the country. He said an elected prime minister, a great army and 220 million people are the guardians of Pakistan. “We know how to live and die for this country,” he said. The armed forces of Pakistan have won the fight against terrorism after laying down thousands of lives, he reiterated.

Replying to a question, Sheikh Rashid said China is the closest friend of Pakistan. The Chinese ambassador had been in Quetta for the past few days and he is safe, he said, and rejected the speculations that the Chinese ambassador was at the hotel when the blast took place. The diplomat was somewhere else, he added.

China on Thursday, while condemning the car bomb attack at Quetta’s Serena Hotel, confirmed that no Chinese nationals were hurt in the attack.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin added that Beijing’s envoy to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was present in the provincial capital at the time of the attack. “Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong was leading a delegation on a visit in Quetta on the same day. When the attack occurred, the Chinese delegation was not in the hotel.”

A statement issued by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan read: “On the night of April 21, a car bomb attacked a hotel in Quetta, causing many casualties. China strongly condemns the terrorist attack, expresses condolences to the unfortunate victims, and sympathy to the injured.” “Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was leading a delegation on a visit in Quetta on the same day. When the attack occurred, the Chinese delegation was not in the hotel. Till present, no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the attack have been received,” it added.

Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Matsuda Kuninori also strongly condemned the terrorist attack in the parking lot of the hotel in Quetta and expressed his sorrow over the loss of precious lives. He expressed his deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the early recovery of the injured, said a press release issued here on Thursday. “My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this gruesome incident. Japan condemns terrorism in all its forms”, he said.

The ambassador further stated that the government of Japan was committed to continuing to support the government of Pakistan and its security forces to combat terrorism.