BEIJING: China and Pakistan said on Friday they were investigating the militant Islamic State (IS) group’s claim that two Chinese teachers abducted in Quetta had been killed, after a video showing the pair was sent to journalists.

“According to the initial information from relevant departments of Pakistan, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have been unfortunately killed,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “We are highly concerned about that and will try our best to get more information on that through various approaches.”

Ms Hua said that after learning the two were missing, the Chinese government and diplomatic missions in Pakistan activated their emergency response mechanism and coordinated with the Pakistani side to “rescue them with our upmost efforts”.

She gave no details about the two, other than that they were not a couple and came from different provinces in China.

The two teachers at a private language school were kidnapped on May 24 by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car in Quetta. A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot at and wounded while rescuing a third person.

A spokesman for the government of Balochistan said he could confirm they were dead based on the 24-second video appearing to show the bloodied bodies of a Chinese man and woman.

“We condemn the gruesome murder of the Chinese pair,” Anwarul Haq Kakar said. “We are sad and shocked.”

The video was sent to the phones of journalists working in Balochistan, apparently by the IS.

Officials speaking on condition of anonymity said they were aware of the video but the bodies had not been found or their identities verified.

Thousands of Chinese work in Pakistan and have sometimes been targeted by militants. China is building roads and power plants under a multibillion-dollar project termed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The Chinese spokesperson said the abductions would have no effect on Chinese-Pakistani relations or plans for development projects.

“Pakistan always pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens and institutions there and has made great efforts in this regard. Since this abduction took place, China and Pakistan have been in close communication,” she said. “China resolutely opposes and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism, and supports Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism and maintain domestic security and stability.”

Ms Hua praised Pakistan for “sparing no effort to investigate the incident and search and rescue the hostages.”

Mr Kakar said security forces had done their best to track and rescue the two.

“Those who killed the innocent Chinese pair will not go unpunished,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2017