Karachi attack: Chinese citizens raise funds for families of slain Pakistani cops
CGTN
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Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry (left) and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan Zhao Lijian at donation event held at the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, Nov. 26, 2018 (Photo: CGTN)

Chinese citizens from around the world have voluntarily initiated a fundraising campaign to support the families of the two Pakistani policemen who were killed in last week's terror attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. This comes a day after a top Chinese diplomat in Pakistan launched a donation drive at a ceremony at the consulate.

Three heavily-armed suicide bombers on Friday stormed the Chinese consulate in Pakistan's largest city, killing four people, including two policemen - Assistant Sub Inspector Ashraf Dawood and Constable Mohammed Amir Khan - before being shot dead by security forces.

"The Chinese side has expressed sincere gratitude to the Pakistani police for taking prompt and decisive actions to effectively protect the security of people in the Consulate General. China has also expressed deep condolences over the deaths of the Pakistani security guards and civilians, and has showed sympathy for the injured security officers," spokesman Geng Shuang told reports in Beijing.

"In order to express respect for the heroic behavior and sacrifice of the Pakistani personnel, officials of the Chinese Consulate General particularly went to the hospital to visit the injured security guards and offered them consolation money," he said.

"The Chinese Consulate General will also send consolation money to the families of the security guards who died in the course of performing their duty. Besides, many Chinese institutions and people in Pakistan, Chinese netizens and Chinese nationals around the world have launched fundraising activities spontaneously," Geng added.

Earlier on Monday, Zhao Lijian, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, cited the spontaneous contribution by the Chinese community as a sign that the Pakistan-China friendship was "rooted in the hearts of the people of the two countries."

Addressing a donation event held at the Chinese Consulate in Karachi on Monday, Zhao said: "The Chinese are here today to try to show their love to the two policemen who sacrificed their lives in the attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi," and also to express their gratitude to law enforcement officials and government for their "heroic contribution" and for "their love for the Chinese people."

Thanking the Chinese community in Pakistan for organizing the event that was also attended by Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Zhao revealed that one Chinese citizen had donated his entire month's salary to the families of the slain cops. "Pakistan-China friendship is not simply empty words but rooted in the hearts of the people. Attempts at sabotaging our friendship will never succeed," he said.

"If one Chinese donated 1 rupee, it would be 1.4 billion rupees. Chinese people volunteered to donate for the two martyred policemen & the one wounded security guard during attack on Chinese Consulate General in Karachi. Their families would be taken good care of," Zhao later tweeted along with the photos from the event.

The Pakistani information minister, who paid tributes to the slain policemen, appreciated the Chinese gesture, saying it clearly reflected the strong bonds between the two countries.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated that the violent attack on its mission in Karachi will not affect the development of relations between the two countries.

"The Chinese and Pakistani governments and people have shown firm mutual trust, support and friendship with respect to the incident. The facts have proven again that the China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea," Geng stressed.

"The peoples of the two countries are suffering together, and China and Pakistan deserve the title of all-weather strategic cooperative partners. I would like to stress that any attempt to undermine China-Pakistan friendship will never succeed," he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson underlined that Pakistan has vowed to investigate the case while ensuring to bolster security for Chinese interests in the country.

"The Pakistani side has stated that it will make every effort to crack the case, resolutely crack down on the organization that committed the crime, and strengthen the security protection of China's institutions, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Chinese citizens," Geng said, adding that "the United Nations Security Council has also issued a press statement on the issue, and has condemned the attack in the strongest terms."