Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday visited Chinese Consulate to express sorrow and grief with Consul General Li Bijian over loss of Chinese faculty members in the suicide attack at a van in Karachi University (KU).

The chief minister shared the details of the incident with the Consul General and assured that the incident would be investigated properly and the culprits would be brought to justice. Murad said the partnership of China in the overall development of Pakistan, particularly of Sindh, was important and such incidents could not affect the strong relationship between the two nations.

He expressed his condolences with the families of Chinese nationals, who had lost their lives in the suicide blast. His government would make all arrangements to send the dead bodies to China for which he needed the consulate’s guidance, he added. Murad also conveyed the condolence messages of Pakistan Peoples Part President Asif Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto to the Chinese Consul General.

He said they had condemned the incident in strong words. The CM told the Chinese Consul General that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had talked to him on telephone and got details of the incident.

He had also condemned the incident and expressed his solidarity with the aggrieved families of Chinese nationals killed in the incident, he added. Consul General Li Bijian thanked the chief minister for his visit and said he was in contact with the families of three Chinese nationals killed in the blast. “Whatever decision is taken in respect of shifting the dead bodies back to China will be informed to the Sindh government,” he added.

Earlier, Inspector General of Sindh Police Mushtaq Maher told the chief minister that at about 14:30 hrs a blast took place in a van near Commerce Department of Karachi University.  “Initial report indicates four casualties which include Chinese nationals.”  The chief minister directed the IGP to conduct a security audit of Chinese nationals living in Sindh under CPEC and non-CPEC related projects and report to him.