ISLAMABAD: Former state minister for Interior and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Khan Afridi on Sunday called on Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of Chinese Embassy, Shi Yuanqiang and conveyed commiserations over the loss of precious lives in recent terrorist attack on Chinese engineers on his own behalf and also conveyed a message of sympathy of the party supremo Imran Khan.
Yang Nuo, Minister Counsellor, Chinese Embassy, was also present on the occasion, says the PTI Central Media Department. Deputy Chief of Mission Shi Yuanqiang, expressed gratitude to the PTI chief Imran Khan and party leader for visiting the Embassy and offering condolences with the victim families and the people of China and Pakistan. He said that China highly values the efforts of Pakistani government and its people in providing support and protection to the Chinese workers and companies. He said that China and Pakistan are iron-friends and the terrorist attacks would only strengthen the resolve of China and Pakistan to fight menace of terrorism strongly.
Afridi said that neither terrorism nor any conspiracy can dent the trust and brotherhood between China and Pakistan and rather these acts only strengthen the resolve of the people and governments of both countries to fight the menace of terrorism.
He pointed out that poverty is a major issue and especially people in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s bordering areas are left behind the developed areas. “Due to the rampant poverty and lack of infrastructure and employment opportunities in bordering areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, the terrorists mislead public and manage to attack Pakistani security forces and Chinese installations,” he claimed.
Afridi regretted that the terrorists also attacked the Chinese engineers in Besham despite the fact that the Chinese engineers have sacrificed everything and came to Pakistan to help build infrastructure and dams for the uplift of Pakistani people.
He urged China and Pakistan to focus development of infrastructure in Pak-Afghan bordering areas and to educate and employ youth as education and employment can help fight the menace of terrorism in far-flung and under-developed tribal areas.
