Pakistan president promises punishment for killers of Chinese engineers

Pakistan's visiting president apologized Monday for the killing of three Chinese engineers by tribal militants in Pakistan, saying the attacks brought "shame" on his country and promising the harshest punishment.

Photo: Pakistan president promises punishment for killers of Chinese engineers

"The man in the street (in Pakistan) loves the Chinese," President Gen. Pervez Musharraf told China's parliament chief Wu Bangguo during a meeting in Beijing.

Musharraf, who arrived in neighboring China on Sunday for a five-day visit aimed at increasing business ties, and possibly working on a free trade deal, between the longtime close allies, also expressed Pakistan's "regret and condolences" over the killings.

"It is a shame of the country," he said.

He earlier promised the "strongest and harshest punishment" for the attackers, said China's official Xinhua News Agency.

A militant tribal group in southwestern Pakistan's Baluchistan province claimed responsibility for last week's drive-by shooting that killed the three Chinese engineers, who were working at a cement factory, and their Pakistani driver, reports the AP.

I.L.