Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping gave important instructions regarding the shuttle bus blast that killed nine Chinese nationals, and China's Ministry of Public Security has sent criminal investigation experts to Pakistan to assist in the investigation into the terrorist attack targeting Chinese nationals, Zhao Kezhi, Chinese Minister of Public Security said in phone call with the Interior Minister of Pakistan on Saturday.

Zhao said the Chinese government has attached great importance to the attack and hopes China and Pakistan can work together to find out the truth, solve the case as soon as possible, locate the real perpetrators and severely punish the organizers behind the attack .

Pakistan has been asked to fully investigate the security risks for Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan, plug loopholes, strengthen early warning systems, security measures, and make utmost efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and prevent similar incidents from happening again, Zhao said. 

He stressed that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and hoped that the law enforcement departments of the two countries will further strengthen cooperation mechanisms, deepen practical cooperation and safeguard the common interests of both sides.

Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani people, strongly condemned the terrorist attack and said that he would go to the scene of the attack the next day to oversee and solve the case, find out the truth and bring the perpetrators to justice. Pakistan will take the highest level of security measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that Balochistan terrorists and the Pakistani Taliban were possible sponsors of the bomb attack. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is the most restless region in Pakistan, as it borders Afghanistan and is home to the Pakistani Taliban. Although it remains uncertain whether it was the Pakistani Taliban who committed the attack, it fitted their modus operandi.

The "East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)" terrorists who flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan may also conduct terror attacks targeting Chinese nationals, Cao Wei, an expert on security studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times.

Cao noted that the Afghanistan Taliban, who used to provide shelter for ETIM terrorists scattered in the country, is working to improve ties with neighboring countries, especially China, for the preparation of domestic political change. With their living room being squeezed in Afghanistan, some ETIM terrorists may flee to join the Pakistani Taliban.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice in a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, marking the first time both sides confirmed the blast as a terror attack after it happened two days ago.