ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office has said that all Pakistanis including diplomats and their families are safe in Dhaka, as militants killed 20 civilians after taking them hostage in a cafe overnight in Bangladeshi capital.
“We are in contact with Pakistani diplomatic staff and they are all safe,” a private TV channel quoted Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria as saying. He said that the diplomatic staff of Pakistan has restricted their movement following the attack.
“We have confirmed that there is no Pakistan national among the hostages,” Zakaria said. In an official statement, the Foreign Office condemned the senseless terrorist attack that had led to the loss of precious lives and injuries to many innocent people.
“The government and the people of Pakistan extend their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and the brotherly people and the government of Bangladesh over the loss of innocent lives and wish the injured early recovery,” the statement said.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the brotherly people of Bangladesh and is confident that the government of Bangladesh will effectively counter this cowardly attack,” the statement said. “Pakistan reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” it said.
In Dhaka, an army spokesman said that the militant killed 20 civilians after taking them hostage, with many of the victims hacked to death. “We’ve recovered 20 bodies. Most of them had been brutally hacked to death with sharp weapons,” Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury told reporters. All 20 victims were foreigners, he said.
An elite police force stormed the cafe to end the siege on Saturday, rescuing 13 people including one Japanese and two Sri Lankans. At least six gunmen were killed during the police operation and one was captured, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in a TV broadcast.
Gunmen attacked the upscale cafe, popular with expatriates, in the diplomatic area of Dhaka at around 9pm on Friday and had been holding about 20 hostages, including foreigners, before police poured into the building to try to free those stuck inside. At least two police were killed, authorities said. A militant group posted photos of what it said were dead foreigners killed in the assault on the cafe.
