Shangla attack: PM Shehbaz orders disciplinary against security officials for ‘negligence’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar today said that disciplinary action will be taken against senior KP police officers for negligence in the Shangla attack where five Chinese nationals were killed on March 26.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered strict action following the findings of an investigative report on the Shangla incident, the Information minister said while talking to the journalists in Lahore. Earlier, PM Shehbaz had formed a body to investigate the March 26 attack

Addressing a news conference, the federal minister revealed that based on the inquiry committee report, disciplinary action would be taken against officers in 15 days. “The inquiry report states that the officers were negligent in their duties,” he added.

“The PM has directed to take action against the regional police officer (RPO) Hazara Division; district police officers of Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan; director of security, Dasu Hydropower Project and commandant special security unit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 15 days,” he said.

READ MORE: Islamabad denounces Indian minister’s remarks confirming Delhi’s assassination policy in Pakistan

Furthermore, he emphasized that the prime minister is personally monitoring the security of Chinese citizens. Shehbaz Sharif always gave importance to the Pakistan-China friendship as Prime Minister Shehbaz personally went to Dasu to meet the Chinese engineers after the attack on their fellows.

“We want peace in the region but our desire should not be misconstrued as a weakness. We are taking the matter of the security of the Chinese very seriously. PM Shehbaz is himself overseeing the security of the Chinese projects and engineers,” he said.

Furthermore, talking about The Guardian report, the minister urged the international community to take note of Indian actions. “Our desire for peace should not be taken for granted,” he insisted, adding, “We will not allow any harm to the country’s integrity.”

On March 26, six people including five Chinese engineers working on the Dasu Dam project were killed in a suicide attack near the Bisham area of the Shangla district.

Chinese nationals were traveling in a bus from Islamabad to the dam construction site in the Dasu area of the Upper Kohistan district.