Photo: AFP

China and Pakistan are continuing their investigations following the arrest of two people for suspected involvement in the terrorist attack that killed nine Chinese nationals, who worked at the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said it would work with Pakistan to avoid any repetition of the incident. 

"China will get to the bottom of the incident and severely punish the perpetrators, while ensuring the safety of Chinese personnel and entities working in Pakistan," Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a media briefing.

The two suspects, who are brothers, have been arrested over suspected involvement in a deadly bus blast in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on July 14, local media reports said on Wednesday. 

The bus was attacked on its way to the China-backed Dasu hydropower project, reports said.

According to the Pakistani law and enforcement agencies, the suspects are from Quetta and have been living in Lahore for the past 15 years, local media organization SAMAA reported.

Chinese observers noted that the Pakistani Taliban and Balochistan terrorists are possible culprits behind the attack. But since no terrorist group has claimed responsibility, it is possible the attack was committed by a third-party force, such as an intelligence agency from another country.

During a meeting with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province last Saturday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the Pakistani side to get to the bottom of the bus explosion and avoid any reoccurrence of such an attack.

Construction of the Dasu hydropower station in Pakistan has been suspended, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed on July 19, but the project's Pakistani employees are still working there.