ISLAMABAD -  Pakistan Monday confirmed the death of two abducted Chinese teachers, a couple. The Islamic State had claimed in June to have killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Balochistan in May.

Militants wearing police uniform had kidnapped the two language teachers in Quetta on May 24th.

The pair, a man and a woman, were abducted the capital of Balochistan, which is at the heart of a multi-million dollar investment by Beijing in Pakistan but is also wracked by militancy. Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, were abducted from Jinnah Town of the city and they were dragged into a car by three unknown men, witnesses said, adding that another Chinese woman managed to escape.

In June the Islamic State group claimed it had killed them, but there had been no confirmation of their deaths from Pakistani or Chinese authorities.

In a statement issued here, the foreign office said Pakistan strongly condemned the death of the two Chinese nationals.

“The DNA reports have confirmed that the two persons killed in Balochistan in June 2017 were the same two Chinese nationals, who were kidnapped from Quetta in May 2017,” it said.

It did not give further detail on when or how their bodies were recovered. In September some local media reports suggested the bodies of two Chinese people had been found in Balochistan.

Authorities originally said the pair were studying Urdu at a local language centre. Later, then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told that the couple, a part of a group of Chinese citizens who obtained business visa from the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing, were instead engaged in evangelical activities in the garb of learning Urdu language.

Pakistan, the statement said, “expresses its deep sense of shock and grief on this brutal act of terrorism, and extends condolences to the government and people of China and sympathies to the families of the victims.” The statement said Pakistan would continue to conduct thorough investigation and apprehend the perpetrators of this crime and to bring them to justice.

“Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestation. We are grateful to China for its strong support for our fight against the menace of terrorism. Pakistan will continue to work with China and the international community to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation as well as regional and global peace and security,” he added.

For the last many months, Pakistan has been assuring China of ensuring security for its nationals working in Pakistan.  China is investing close to $57 billion under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Pakistan had also handed over control of Gwadar Port to China’s state-owned China Overseas Ports Holding in February 2013.  Gwadar Port - built by Chinese workers and opened in 2007 - is undergoing a major expansion since.

Meanwhile on Monday, Pakistan announced it had decided to release 68 Indian fishermen on October 30th, 2017 to be repatriated via Wagah Border.

A foreign office statement said: “Pakistan has released them as a goodwill gesture on humanitarian grounds. These fishermen were held for crossing into Pakistani waters. Earlier, Pakistan had also released two Indian civil[ian] prisoners on October 13, 2017.”

It added: “Pakistan has always maintained that humanitarian issues should be facilitated and not politicised.”