China to continue support for Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts

BEIJING (Reuters): China will continue to support Pakistan in counter-terrorism operations, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after two Chinese nationals were wounded in a shooting in the country’s commercial hub Karachi last week.

China and Pakistan have the determination and ability to thwart all attempts to undermine China-Pakistan relations and make terrorists pay the price, spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference in Beijing.

In October, a bombing near Karachi’s international airport killed two Chinese engineers, in an attack claimed by separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong had previously asked Islamabad to take decisive action against all militant groups, asserting that back-to-back deadly terror attacks in just six months were unacceptable in a rare public reprimand.

A decades-long insurgency in Balochistan by separatists demanding a share in regional resources has led to frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests.