Pakistani investigators gather evidence at the site of an explosion in Karachi, Pakistan, on April 26, 2022. Photo: VCG

 

On Wednesday, Sichuan Normal University released the names of its teachers who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack taking placing on Tuesday at the entrance to the Confucius Institute affiliated with the University of Karachi in Pakistan, strongly urging Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The three Chinese teachers who were killed are Huang Guiping, who was stationed in the Confucius Institute as its director, the other two are Ding Mufang and Chen Sai, a volunteer. Another teacher named Wang Yuqing was injured.

"After hearing the news of the tragedy, we were greatly shocked and felt grieved. We deeply mourn the victims and send sincere condolences to the families and the injured," read the statement from the Sichuan Normal University.

In the statement, the university strongly required Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice. It had set up a working group to assist the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and related departments for aftermath settlement and to take care of the families of the victims.

Hours after the tragedy, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that China strongly condemns and expresses great indignation over this major terrorist attack. "The blood of the Chinese people should not be shed in vain and those behind this incident will pay the price," the ministry said. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the fatal blast, to express his condolences to the victims of the terrorist attack and he wrote a message, vowing to do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators to justice, according to a release from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

The terror attack has shocked people in both China and Pakistan with many urging Pakistan to take measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals. And on Wednesday, many people, especially students in the University of Karachi, mourned the teachers who were killed. 

A netizen who posted a picture of a letter she previously sent to Chen Sai, the volunteer who died on Tuesday, tweeted, "With a sad heart and shaky hands I write this… her big eyes and big heart will haunt me for the rest of my life… Taught the ABC of mandarin [Chinese] to us and had big plans for her students. I feel ashamed today that she was murdered in my country. She loved teaching. RIP. Laoshi Chen." 

Shaista Tabassum, a professor from the department of international relations in the University of Karachi, tweeted on Wednesday that she strongly "condemned attack on innocent Chinese teachers… They were our colleagues, our friends."