City Desk

ISLAMABAD: Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on Tuesday, unequivocally denounced the terrorist attack on Chinese nationals and said that all political parties have united in their condemnation of this despicable act. During a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, at the Chinese embassy, he conveyed profound sorrow and grief over the loss of innocent Chinese lives in the heinous terrorist attack in Shangla Besham.

He said that every Pakistani shares in the grief and sadness caused by this tragic incident. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs to create a rift between the two nations. He expressed confidence that Pakistani security agencies, along with the support of the people and parliament, would soon eradicate terrorism from the soil of Pakistan. Highlighting the significance of bilateral parliamentary cooperation, Sadiq mentioned that it was an honour for him to organize the first Speakers’ Conference in 2017 to develop a shared declaration on enhancing regional connectivity and countering terrorism. He underscored the need to revive the Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG) between both countries to facilitate the exchange of parliamentary experiences. He reiterated his commitment to fostering consensus among all political parties in Parliament to devise a unified strategy for safeguarding Pak-China interests, especially projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He paid homage to the deceased Chinese nationals by inscribing condolence remarks in the Visitors’ Book at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan. Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong thanked the Government of Pakistan, its parliament, and law enforcement agencies for their support and solidarity during this challenging time. He affirmed that such cowardly acts would not deter China from supporting Pakistan and thanked Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for observing a minute of silence in honour of the deceased Chinese nationals during the proceedings of the National Assembly.