China condemns Islamabad mosque attack, pledges support for Pakistan

BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) – China condemned an attack ‍on a Shi’ite mosque in Islamabad, pledging support on Sunday for the ‌Pakistan government’s ‌efforts to “maintain national security and stability”.

China is “deeply shocked” by Friday’s attack, ​the foreign ministry said in ‍a ​statement.

An attacker opened ​fire at the ‍gates of the mosque before setting off a suicide bomb and ‍killing at least 31 people in the ‍deadliest ‍attack of ​its kind in ​Pakistan’s ⁠capital in ‌more than a decade.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by William ⁠Mallard)