Pakistan’s PM to review security arrangements for Chinese nationals after Eid Al-Fitr

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will review a security plan for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan soon after Eid Al-Fitr celebrations in the country, reported a local media outlet on Monday.
Three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed when a female suicide bomber detonated herself near a Chinese language learning center at the University of Karachi last week.
According to security officials, the attack, which was claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, was launched to specifically target the Chinese nationals.
“In view of potential threats being faced by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other joint ventures between the two countries, the premier would assess all the mechanisms earlier devised for ensuring the security of the Chinese nationals and the new plan being devised by the planning and interior ministries,” reported The Express Tribune.
It added “the security plan would be presented to PM Shehbaz in the first week after Eid.”
Official sources told the newspaper the PM had asked the planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, to meet the country heads of Chinese companies operating in Pakistan to get their input on the matter as well.
Iqbal is also expected to visit Gwadar after Eid to examine security arrangements and see if the Chinese nationals working over there have any complaints.
“In addition, PM Shehbaz has directed the interior ministry to engage provinces, especially the Balochistan government, for the provision of the security in Gwadar and submit a report in the first week after Eid,” the newspaper reported.
Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region will also set up a “provincial foreigners security cell, with requisite staff and logistics,” which will have information on all Chinese nationals visiting the area.
Chinese workers in Pakistan have also been targeted by militant groups in the past.
In July 2021, 10 Chinese nationals were killed after an explosion on their bus in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Chinese authorities have not only condemned such incidents but also asked Pakistan to take stern action against their perpetrators.