Heart-warming act by Chinese diplomats

Islamabad: Two terrorist attacks last week shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the country once again - one on the Chinese consulate in Karachi and one in Orackzai. Both attacks were shocking and resulted in loss of lives, the one on the consulate killing two policemen, Assistant Sub Inspector, Ashraf Dawood and Constable Amir and a couple of civilians, while the one in Orackzai caused more damage with dozens of lives lost.

What was heart-warming to see was that the Chinese diplomats in Islamabad were collecting donations for the families of the two policemen at their stall which they had put up - despite the recent attack - at the Foreign Office annual Bazaar on Sunday. A box with photographs of the two martyred men was placed on a table along with items for sale.

Hopefully, the hundreds of people who visited the stall did notice it was there and contributed their change, or made a bigger donation, for the welfare of these families. I was afraid to ask the ladies and in any case it was still early and not many persons had started visiting stalls. But this considerate act by the Chinese was appreciated by a number of people, as well as the fact that they did not cancel putting up their stall. This is why friendship between the people of the two countries will remain steadfast despite the negative actions and critical voices of the naysayers.