13 killed, including 9 Chinese, in Pakistan bus accident
Mansehra (Pakistan): A bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani construction workers on a slippery mountainous road in northwest Pakistan fell into a ravine Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, officials said.
At least 36 people were also injured in the apparent accident in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Arif Javed, a deputy district commissioner.
The incident happened on a wet road following an overnight rain but Pakistani officials were still investigating and the Chinese Embassy said in a statement the bus was attacked.
Chinese engineers and construction workers are helping Pakistan build a dam in Kohistan. Javed said the Pakistani and Chinese construction workers were on their way to the project site when the accident happened.
Asim Abbasi, an assistant commissioner in Kohistan, said authorities believe the incident was an accident but were investigating whether there was some type of explosion in the bus. He said a gas cylinder may have exploded and it was possible that explosive material was in the vehicle. Explosives are often used by engineers in construction projects.
So far, we are not sure whether there was a blast in the bus but the bus fell into a ravine and it seems it was an accident," he said.
The Chinese Embassy in a statement called the incident an attack.
Recently, our workers at a business on a certain project in Pakistan were attacked and have suffered deaths and injuries, the statement said. We have notified Chinese citizens in Pakistan to avoid venturing outside unless required by work or business and pay especial care to their safety.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China was shocked by and condemns the bomb attack in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
We mourn over the Chinese and Pakistani personnel killed in the attack and express sympathies to bereaved families and the wounded, Zhao said at a daily news briefing.
We have demanded the Pakistani side get to the bottom of the incident, arrest and strictly punish the assailants as soon as possible, and earnestly protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan, Zhao said.
Kamran Bangash, a government spokesman for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, asked the media not to speculate because officers were still investigating. He said helicopters were transporting critically injured persons to hospitals for treatment.
Bangash said investigators would soon brief the media about the cause of the incident. His comments came after local media quoted unnamed sources to report that there was an explosion in the bus carrying Chinese and Pakistani construction workers and security officials.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan, where motorists largely disregard traffic rules and safety standards on damaged roads, particularly in the mountainous terrain in the north. (AP)
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Houses only for eligible evictees, not encroachers: Dy CM Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state government would not provide houses to encroachers and would rehabilitate only eligible evictees on humanitarian grounds.
Responding to questions on whether housing would be provided to residents evicted during the recent demolition drive at Kogilu in north Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the government would not “gift” anything to those who had illegally occupied government land. He added that strict action would be taken against those who facilitated encroachments.
“There is no appeasement politics. Housing will be provided through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana only to eligible evictees on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said several evictees had informed officials that they were allowed to set up sheds after paying money to intermediaries. “We will take action against those who collected money and enabled encroachment of government land,” he said.
He added that some evictees had claimed land rights were issued to them in the past. “I have asked officials to verify these claims. Some outsiders have also encroached the land recently. We will identify the original settlers and rehabilitate only genuine beneficiaries,” he said.
Responding to criticism from CPI(M) leaders and MPs from Kerala, Shivakumar said, “We are running our government well. They can make any statement they want, but we will not allow encroachments. The Left government in Kerala, which has not fulfilled promises made to flood victims, has no right to lecture Karnataka.”
Clarifying remarks attributed to him about Kerala, Shivakumar said he had not spoken ill of Keralites. “BJP leader Rajeev Chandrashekhar is twisting my statement and misleading people. I share a good relationship with the people of Kerala. I will campaign in the Kerala elections, and our government will come to power there,” he said.
He also said local body elections would be held next year and that the state’s guarantee schemes would continue.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and other BJP leaders accused the Congress government of providing houses to “illegal immigrants” evicted from government land at Kogilu. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh were residing in the area using fake Aadhaar cards.
