Chinese Delegation Was Not At Serena Hotel During Blast: MOFA

A Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the Chinese ambassador was not at the hotel at the time of the blast in Quetta and no Chinese nationals were affected.

Giving a weekly briefing to reporters, Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday.

The Chinese ambassador was not present at the hotel at the time of the attack while no Chinese resident was affected, the spokesperson added.

He said that Pakistan and China are partners of all seasons and the government is ensuring the safety of the Chinese people.

PM to visit Saudi Arabia

The Foreign Office spokesman said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has been invited by the Saudi Crown Prince to visit Saudi Arabia. He will visit Saudi Arabia soon, but the dates of his visit are yet to be decided.

He said that we want to resolve all the long-standing issues with India through fruitful dialogue, but for dialogue, it is necessary to talk about the basic issue of Kashmir, all the basic freedoms of Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir are taken away and the Kashmiris continue living in an atmosphere of fear and terror.

He said that India could not push Pakistan to a standstill on the issue of its spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and it was not possible, while India had repeatedly asked for legal representation for Kulbhushan.

Zahid Hafeez said that Afghans believe in a political solution to the conflict, Pakistan’s efforts made inter-Afghan talks possible, Pakistan has always talked about responsible withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan while security in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US forces and no vacuum should be created.

Replying to a question, he said that reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan were an ongoing process, which included legal, constitutional, administrative and political reforms, which were being carried out at the long-standing demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Earlier, Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said that the blast that hit the luxury venue in Quetta last night was a suicide attack.

The interior minister held a news conference to discuss the Quetta bomb blast from last night that killed five people and injured many others.

He said that the bomber was sitting in his car at the time of the blast, adding that ‘60 to 80 kg of explosives were used in the blast, however, we have ordered the Chief Secretary to conduct an immediate investigation.’

He revealed that during the past 10 days, an estimated 250,000-300,000 social media accounts were created in India, in an attempt to destabilize Pakistan.

Sheikh Rashid said that ‘These foreign forces cannot see Pakistan prosper and progress,’ said the minister.

The interior minister also said that Balochistan and Gwadar are the future of Pakistan and China is the closest friend of Pakistan and reiterated that the armed forces of Pakistan won the fight against terrorism after laying down thousands of lives.

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