KARACHI: As China urged Pakistan to rapidly bring the perpetrators to justice, investigators probing Monday’s killing of a Chinese national in the metropolis are yet to determine whether the targeted attack was related to the victim’s personal issues, or if it was an attempt involving hostile foreign elements to disturb ties between China and Pakistan, officials and sources said on Tuesday.

They said in case of foreign elements’ involvement, the attack might be an attempt to harass other Chinese workers staying and working in the city and other parts of Sindh while serving dozens of projects relating to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“It would be a little early to [say] anything,” said an official. “But it’s for sure a targeted attack and not any mugging attempt. Surveillance cameras installed at the site of the incident were not working but the investigators have collected footage of other cameras in the surrounding areas to check movement of vehicles and people at the time of the incident to connect the dots.”

China asks Pakistan to solve the case as soon as possible

Forty-five-year-old Chen Zhu, employed with a local shipping firm in a senior position, was gunned down in what police described as a targeted attack carried out by an unidentified lone assailant on Monday afternoon in Zamzama area. Another Chinese man with the victim at the time of the attack remained unhurt while a passer-by was injured, according to officials. Officials emphasised that the firm was not part of any CPEC-related project as it had been working in Pakistan since the early 1990s.

“A few facts are quite significant [which have] emerged during the course of the probe and one of them suggested that the pistol used by the lone attacker was not used in any previous attack,” the official said.

Beijing’s reaction

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular briefing that the “consulate general of China has sent officials to the hospital and urged the police to solve the case as soon as possible and bring the criminals to justice”, adds AFP.

Last October, Pakistan confirmed the death of two Chinese nationals who were kidnapped in Quetta, months after the militant Islamic State group claimed it had killed them.

When asked whether Beijing was concerned about the safety of its citizens in Pakistan, Geng noted Pakistan’s government and military have taken a series of counterterrorism and security measures.

“We support Pakistan’s relevant actions to safeguard national security and we believe Pakistan will continue to take measures to safeguard the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan,” Geng said.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2018