The Foreign Office on Monday welcomed the special Anti-Terrorism Court’s (ATC) judgment, saying the “proactive investigation, prosecution, and judgment” in the last year’s terrorist attack on Chinese engineers working on the Dasu hydropower project “have once again demonstrated Pakistan’s abiding commitment to counterterrorism.”
The statement from FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch comes days after an anti-terrorism court in Hazara awarded a death sentence to two men after convicting them for planning the attack.
“We have noted the judgment passed by the relevant Court and details released by the local police,” Baloch said in response to a question regarding the verdict, adding that specific queries regarding the issue “may be directed to the relevant authorities.”
On Friday, the ATC handed down death sentence on 13 counts to each of the two men in Dasu Hydro Power Project (DHPP) terrorist attack case.
The court also imposed Rs40 million fine on the two convicted terrorists, besides awarding them a total of around 800 years of imprisonment: including life imprisonments.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Chinese contractor demobilized from the site and raised several demands as preconditions to resume work, which inter-alia included payment of $37 million as compensation for the deceased and injured Chinese workers.
The project is Pakistan’s flagship project, which upon completion will enhance the generation capacity of the country by 4,320 MW.
The spokesperson reiterated that the “Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership will never be undermined by hostile forces.”
The FO spokesperson said that they again extend their deepest condolences to the victims’ families and remained committed to the safety and security of Chinese workers, projects and institutions in Pakistan. The ironclad Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership will never be undermined by hostile forces, she added.
