Islamabad/Beijing: Pakistan on Wednesday promised a
thorough probe into the killing of a Chinese woman in its
restive city of Peshawar, saying the perpetrators would be
brought to justice, amid China`s call for "credible" security
measures for hundreds of its nationals working in the country.
"Every effort will be made to investigate this crime and
bring the perpetrators to justice," Foreign Office spokesman
Abdul Basit said in a statement.
The government condemned the killing of the Chinese
national "in the strongest terms," he said.
The Pakistan government attaches "high importance to the
security and safety of Chinese nationals" in the country,
Basit said.
In Beijing, Pakistan`s Ambassador Masood Khan said in a
separate statement: "We are thoroughly investigating the
incident and will spare no effort to track down the culprits."
Hua Jiang, the 42-year-old Chinese woman, was shot dead
with her Pakistani companion, Suleman Shams, in a crowded
market of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
province, yesterday.
The motive behind the murders is yet to be ascertained.
Reports said the Chinese woman was a student of Beijing
University and was on a vacation in Peshawar.
Shams, a student of the prestigious Government College in
Lahore, was apparently acting as her interpreter.
Both were shot in the face by a gunman who was on foot.
This was the second attack on Chinese nationals in
Peshawar in over four years.
Three Chinese men were killed in the city in July 2007.
Chinese Foreign Office spokesman Hong Lei today said in Beijing that his government had taken the incident seriously
and called on the Pakistani side to investigate the crime and
spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Hong also sought "credible measures" to ensure the safety
of Chinese institutions and nationals in Pakistan.
"The Foreign Ministry pays great attention to the
incident, and the Chinese embassy in Pakistan has launched
emergency procedures to handle the case," he said.
"At the same time we also require the Pakistani side to
investigate the case and spare no efforts to bring the
perpetrators to justice, and take credible measures to ensure
the safety of Chinese institutions and nationals in Pakistan,"
Hong said.
PTI
