CHINA has backed Pakistan’s probe into the March 26 suicide attack on its engineers in Bisham, saying eliminating terrorism is in the “interest of all countries”, the Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s response came a day after Pakistan pinned the attack’s responsibility on the leadership of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), based in Afghanistan, and hostile foreign intelligence agencies.

While Pakistan demanded Afghanistan to act against terrorists operating out of its soil, the Chinese official’s remarks didn’t specifically name Kabul.

“China attaches great importance to the important progress made by the Pakistani side on the investigation of the terrorist attack,” Mao Ning said in a press conference on Monday.

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“China supports Pakistan in continuing to get to the full bottom of what happened, and hunting down and bringing to justice all the perpetrators.”

She said the two nations “will continue to work” to strengthen security cooperation and ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan.

Ms Ning called terrorism a “common enemy of humanity and a scourge against regional development and stability” and urged all nations to boost efforts to eliminate it.

“China calls on countries in the region to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation, root out all terrorist organisations, remove their breeding ground, and protect the common security and development interests of all countries.”

Earlier on Sunday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also demanded the Afghan interim government arrest three alleged terrorists named Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Abdullah and Khan Lala, along with TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, its Malakand Commander Azmatullah and the entire leadership of the outlawed group for their involvement in the attack.

“We want good ties with Afghanistan, but for that, it is important they arrest these terrorists, prosecute them or hand them to us,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2024