The Chinese nationals who were killed, allgedly by ISIS, in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy People's Daily @ http://... Read More

NEW DELHI: The mystery surrounding the two Chinese nationals recently murdered in Balochistan has only deepened, as Pakistan is now saying the duo may have been "preachers" who were "engaged in evangelical activities" despite being on business visas, Pakistani media reported.

In a turn of events that's likely to displease China even more than it already reportedly is, a senior Pakistani minister was said to have been very annoyed upon hearing about this alleged breach of visa terms by the Chinese duo, when he was informed about it Monday.

Nisar was told that the abductees "were engaged in preaching under the garb of learning Urdu from a Korean national", reported Dawn and The Express Tribune. Their reports didn't say exactly who informed the minister. They only said he was given this information at a "high level meeting".

As well, the reports didn't specify what the Chinese nationals were preaching, although the phrase "engaged in evangelical activities" could mean the duo were preaching Christianity.

Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar was quoted as saying that while foreigners' security is certainly Islamabad's responsibility, those who visit Pakistan "are equally bound to abide by the terms and conditions of their visas", reported the Tribune.

Meanwhile, it appears Beijing is already annoyed with Islamabad over security concerns, because its President Xi Jinping didn't have a customary one-on-one meeting with Nawaz Sharif , Prime Minister of its 'all-weather friend', at a summit in Astana last week.

Pakistan's Nisar is reported to have spoken at some length about the Chinese nationals' misuse of their visas.

“Where the government makes every effort to provide security to foreigners, the visiting foreign nationals are equally bound to abide by the terms and conditions of their visas and inform local authorities about their movements and activities in view of the security requirements, if any,” he said, according to the Tribune.

He reportedly also said there's "a need to review the process of issuance of visas to the Chinese nationals coming to Pakistan" for various projects. China's CPEC project has led to hundreds if not thousands of Chinese pouring into Pakistan for work on the project. He added there's a need to maintain a databank of Chinese nationals present in various parts of the country, the reports said.

It was initially reported that the two Chinese nationals, both in their mid-20s, were teachers. They were abducted last month in restive Balochistan. ISIS last week claimed it abducted and killed them .

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to Pakistan for projects related to CPEC, which connects Balochistan's Gwadar port with China's Xinjiang through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Even though China said last week that the murders of its two citizens were not connected to the $50 billion CPEC, the fact that its President met with several other of the region's leaders in Astana and not with Pakistan's Sharif, raised a lot of eyebrows.

