According to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the Chinese engineers killed in a recent blast in Karachi were involved in energy debt re-profiling talks with the government of Pakistan.
He also claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s strike caused Rs190 billion daily economic loss. “The ones killed were the Independent Power Producers engineers with whom Energy Minister Awais Leghari and I were negotiating in terms of our request to re-profile our debt and extend (payment) maturities so that we can reduce power tariff and provide relief to the public,” Aurangzeb added.
As per the Chinese embassy, two of its nationals lost their lives while another one sustained injuries. Pakistan was trying to get a five-year extension to repay its $16 million energy debt. However, it may increase the debt obligation by another $1.3 billion due to an extension in the payment period.
Three Chinese nationals were killed in a deadly terrorist attack at Karachi Airport last week. Pakistan’s Foreign Office condemns the horrific terrorist attack on the Chinese convoy at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Sunday night.
Read more:Three Chinese nationals killed in Karachi Airport attacked
Pakistan has vowed to ensure that those involved in the deadly attack will not go unpunished. As per the latest reports, two Chinese nationals died, one Chinese national was injured, and dozens of others were injured as a result of the blast. The huge blast rattled the port city of Pakistan on Sunday night.
The blast was heard as far as 20 kilometers from the Karachi Airport. Initially, it was called an oil tanker explosion. Videos of the fire engulfing the cars went viral on social media.
Some videos recorded from a distance showed thick columns of fire and smoke erupting from the scene. The unconfirmed reports claim an 80 Kg explosive was used in the terrorist attack. It was a vehicle-borne suicide bombing that damaged 12 cars, 3 of which were destroyed.