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Pakistani President to visit China after killings
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-17 20:54
Wednesday's attack on the engineers in Hub, a town west of Karachi, was not
the first time Chinese have been targeted by militants in the restive province
of Baluchistan -- three were killed in a bomb attack in Gwadar port in 2004.
Bodies of the Chinese workers are brought to a
hospital after a shooting incident in the Pakistani town of Hub, near
Karachi, February 15, 2006. Pakistani separatist gunmen killed three
Chinese workers and their driver in a drive-by shooting in southern
Pakistan on Wednesday. [Reuters] |
A separatist group called the Baluch Liberation Army has claimed
responsibility for the latest attack.
"It will not have much impact on the relations but I think Chinese will be
cautious in expanding relations to ensure security of their people in Pakistan,"
said Talat Masood, a political analyst and a former general.
Referring to Musharraf's visit, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang
talked of the two countries' cooperation in cracking down on "three forces" -- a
reference to terrorism, separatists and religious extremism.
"The intensifying cooperation between the two sides are not only beneficial
to the countries themselves, but also beneficial to the stability and peace of
the region," Gang said.
China is concerned about Islamic militancy spilling over its western borders,
and some Central Asian militants have hidden in Pakistan to escape crackdowns in
their own countries.
The speed with which security forces detained close to 50 suspects and
promised extra protection for Chinese workers showed the importance Pakistan
attaches to relations with China.
There are around 1,000 Chinese workers involved in infrastructure projects
and industries in Pakistan, and a senior Chinese diplomat said it is up to them
whether they want to stay or go in view of the security situation.
"Ten Chinese technicians who were working along the engineers killed on
Wednesday have gone back to China, but these are the only Chinese to go back,"
the diplomat said.
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