9 Chinese engineers among 13 killed in alleged attack on bus in northwest Pakistan

News Network
July 14, 2021

Peshawar / Beijing, 14: Nine Chinese engineers were among 13 people killed on Wednesday when a bus carrying construction workers in northwest Pakistan's mountainous region was "attacked", according to officials and eyewitnesses.

The incident took place in Dasu area of Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Chinese engineers and construction workers are helping Pakistan build a dam which is part of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), officials said.

At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals and two Frontier Corps soldiers, died when the bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers to the site of the under construction Dassu Dam exploded, Deputy Commissioner Upper Kohistan Muhammad Arif said in his initial statement.

The bus fell into a deep Ravine after the explosion, the official said.

The injured were admitted to nearby hospitals.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan called it a "cowardly attack" and said it would "not divert attention from the special initiatives between Pakistan and its neighbours."

Awan said he would ask Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to offer a briefing on the country’s security situation and to keep this House in the loop about the occurrence.

An eyewitness claimed that there was a loud noise and the bus bounced in the air and fell down, BBC Urdu service reported.

Quoting another eyewitness, it said the bus looked like flying in the air after the blast. Few seconds later, the bus fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Local people rushed to the spot where the injured were screaming, he said.

However, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), which is responsible for dam construction, said in a statement that it was an "accident".

Officials said more details would be provided after the investigation.

"The bus plunged into a deep ravine after the blast and caused heavy losses. One Chinese engineer and one soldier are missing. The rescue operation has been launched,” a senior government official said.

Special Assistant to KP Chief Minister Kamran Khan Bangash said that a high level delegation has left for Upper Kohistan to ascertain the facts.

"The media is advised to avoid speculating on the matter,” he said.

Bangash said that a large number of security officials were deployed to protect Chinese nationals. Those who are in critical condition are being shifted via helicopter, he said. A large number of Rescue 1122 ambulances and officials have reached the spot, he added.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office in Islamabad said that the bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into a ravine after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast.

"According to preliminary reports, nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis lost their lives,” it said, adding that the Chinese workers and accompanying Pakistani staff were proceeding to their work place for an ongoing project.

FO said that further investigations are underway, while the local authorities are providing all possible assistance to the injured.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely in contact with the Chinese Embassy for coordination and facilitation, it said.

Pakistan and China are close friends and iron-brothers and Pakistan attaches great importance to safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in the country, it added.

In Beijing, China condemned the "bomb attack" on the bus near the Dasu hydropower plant and called on the Pakistan government to give “severe punishment” to the perpetrators behind it.

Asked for details of the casualties and China’s reaction to the incident at a media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China expresses its condemnation of the "bomb attack" in Pakistan resulting in the casualties of the Chinese personnel.

He, however, did not provide any official figures of casualties.

"China extends its condolences to those who died in the attack and sympathy for their families and the injured,” he said.

"Security forces in Pakistan have taken actions to control the situation, properly transfer and save the injured," he said.

"The Chinese side requests the Pakistan side to look into the truth, hold the perpetrators accountable and give them severe punishment, so as to protect the security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects," he said.

Thousands of Chinese personnel have been deployed in Pakistan to work on a host of projects being carried out under the aegis of the CPEC.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Ottawa, Mar 16: An Indian-origin couple and their teenage daughter were killed in a "suspicious" fire which tore through their home last week in Canada's Ontario province, police said on Friday.

A fire engulfed a home at the Big Sky Way and Van Kirk Drive area of Brampton on March 7, a press release by the Peel Police said.

After the blaze was put out, investigators located what was believed to be human remains within the gutted house, but the number of people killed couldn't be ascertained at the time.

The charred remains were on Friday identified as those of three family members: 51-year-old Rajiv Warikoo; his wife, 47-year-old Shilpa Kotha; and their 16-year-old daughter, Mahek Warikoo.

Police said that they resided at the address before the fire.

Peel police Constable Taryn Young on Friday said the fire had been deemed suspicious, the CTV news channel reported.

"At this time, we are investigating this with our homicide bureau, and we are deeming this as suspicious as the Ontario Fire Marshal has deemed that this fire was not accidental," the report quoted Young as saying.

"There's not much left to it," Young said when asked about the possible cause of the fire.

"Looking into something like that as a fire marshal, I'm sure it's very tough when there is not much left to look at. But we are exhausting all avenues," she said.

The deceased family's neighbour, Kenneth Yousaf, said that the family had lived on the street for about 15 years, and he never noticed any problems with them.

Yousaf said he was alerted to the fire last week by a family member, who heard a big "bang." "When we came out, the house was on fire. So sad. Within a few hours, everything was down to the ground," the report quoted Yousaf as saying.

In a press release, police said they are continuing to investigate the deaths of the three family members and urged anyone with information to come forward.

"The circumstances surrounding the house fire remains the focus of an active investigation, and anyone with information or video footage (dashcam or otherwise) is urged to contact Homicide detectives," police said.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has announced that his son, former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will contest from state's Mandya parliamentary seat as NDA candidate.

Deve Gowda told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to field Kumaraswamy, who is also JD(S) state president, in Lok Sabha polls from the Mandya seat was taken amid mounting public demand. "People are demanding that Kumaraswamy should contest from Mandya. In the core committee meeting as well, all members suggested that he should contest from Mandya," Deve Gowda said.

The former Chief Minister's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(S) supremo further said that the name of senior leader Mallesh Babu has been finalised from the Kolar seat.

Deve Gowda's grandson and former Karnataka Minister H. D. Revanna's son sitting JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will be contesting as the NDA candidate from the Hassan seat.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy in a media briefing indicated that he would contest from Mandya amid mounting public pressure on him.

Congress has fielded Venkatarame Gowda popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’ from the Mandya seat dominated by Vokkaligas. Star Chandru is a close associate of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would formally kickstart the BJP's Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka on Saturday from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's home turf— Kalaburagi.

He is scheduled to address a mega public meeting at the district headquarters town's N V Ground at 2 pm.

Kharge, who had represented Kalaburagi (Gulbarga Lok Sabha segment) twice in the past, lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav by a margin of 95,452 votes in the 2019 general elections here— the octogenarian leader's first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.

BJP has once again fielded Jadhav from the segment.

Speculations are rife that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, may not contest the coming polls and, instead, the Congress is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman, who also manages educational institutions.

On March 18, Modi will be in Shivamogga, the home district of veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, and is scheduled to address a huge public meeting at 2 pm.

Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is the sitting MP from Shivamogga and has been re-nominated by the party. Yediyurappa's other son B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura assembly constituency in the district, is the state BJP President.

BJP has announced candidates for 20 seats in the State, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

After being ousted from power by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP now is making a strong bid to regain the lost ground in Karnataka.

The BJP won 25 out of total 28 seats in the previous elections, and had ensured the win of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya. The then ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance had come a cropper winning just one seat each.

It is a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the NDA last September and has forged an electoral alliance with the BJP. The regional party is expected to contest in three seats— Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

Sharing details of Modi's visit, state BJP General Secretary Sunil Kumar on Wednesday said BJP National President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath along with other leaders will visit different Lok Sabha constituencies for campaigning in the coming days.

Speaking about the party's poll preparations, he said: "We have divided 28 Lok Sabha constituencies into eight clusters for Lok Sabha elections. Keeping in view the local political and geographical background, programmes and strategies are being worked out in those eight clusters."

Several senior leaders including Shah and Nadda have already visited one of these clusters, Kumar said, adding, "Workers' convention, well-wishers' contacts have been made and election preparations are on in all these eight clusters. In the second phase, large public meetings will be held."

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