China's media reported the bus explosion in Pakistan on July 14 that caused 9 deaths and 28 injuries to Chinese citizens and which attracted "high attention" from senior Chinese officials. The workers were building the Dasu Hydropower Station project in Upper Kohistan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Chinese media said that after the incident, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong arrived at the scene of the explosion on July 15, by the Chinese company's shuttle bus to check the situation and the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan launched an emergency plan, contacting the Pakistani military, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and other relevant departments, requesting Pakistan to carry out full rescue and treatment at all costs, and to strengthen the protection of Chinese institutions, projects, and personnel in Pakistan, security, and as soon as possible to find out the truth of the incident. The Pakistani military has organized rescue operations at the first time and dispatched helicopters to transport the wounded. After Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke to the Pakistani Prime Minister on July 16 and said he hoped that Pakistan will use all necessary means to find out the truth seriously, responsibly and accurately, and must bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks to justice. The following day on July 17, the Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi made an emergency call to Pakistan's Minister of Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. Zhao Kezhi said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the casualties of Chinese personnel in Pakistan on July 14, and Chinese President Xi Jinping had given important instructions. Zhao Kezhi said that China's Ministry of Public Security has sent technical experts in criminal investigations to Pakistan to assist in the investigation. He hopes that the two sides will work together to find out the truth, solve the case as soon as possible, find out the real culprit, and severely punish the organizers and related personnel behind the scenes. Zhao Kezhi emphasized that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. He hopes that the law enforcement agencies of China and Pakistan will further strengthen the construction of cooperation mechanisms, deepen practical cooperation, and safeguard the common interests of both sides. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security and Director of the National Immigration Administration Xu Ganlu were present during the conversation.  Pakistan’s investigation and notification, this is a terrorist attack against Chinese personnel in Pakistan. China strongly condemns the organizations and personnel who committed this atrocity. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that, “China is shocked by the serious casualties of Chinese personnel in Pakistan. It is hoped that Pakistan will quickly find out the cause of the incident, try its best to treat the wounded, and take care of the aftermath in a timely manner to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Such a terror. In the attack, the perpetrators must be immediately arrested and the perpetrators must be severely punished. Lessons should be learned from this, and security measures for China-Pakistan cooperation projects should be further strengthened to ensure the safe and smooth operation of all projects."The South China Morning Post (July 21) quoted the comments of Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, on the incident. He said “The location was a region where the Pakistani Taliban is active, and there are some tribal armed groups there, too.” “The Pakistani Taliban is not a concentrated group of anti-government militants, but a coalition of many tribal groups.” It said Li Wei was referring to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also referred to as TTP or the Pakistani Taliban.

(Comment: At around 7:00 local time on July 14, two shuttle buses carrying workers from the China Gezhouba Group Co., a construction company based in Wuhan, which was building the Dasu Hydropower Station project, were badly damaged in an explosion.)