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.
Pakistan’s PM to review security arrangements for Chinese nationals after Eid Al-Fitr
https://arab.news/84pvu
Pakistan’s PM to review security arrangements for Chinese nationals after Eid Al-Fitr
- Three Chinese citizens were killed last week in a suicide bombing at the University of Karachi
- PM Sharif has instructed ministries of planning and interior to devise a new security plan
At ECO meeting, Pakistan proposes ‘Regional Innovation Hub’ to curb natural disasters
- Pakistan hosts high-level 10th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction in Islamabad
- Innovation hub to focus on early warning technologies, risk informed infrastructure planning
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed to set up a “Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction” that focuses on early warning technologies and risk informed infrastructure planning, the Press Information Department (PID) said on Wednesday, as Islamabad hosts a high-level meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
The ECO’s 10th Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is being held from Jan. 21-22 at the headquarters of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Pakistan’s capital.
The high-level regional forum brings together ministers, and senior officials from ECO member states, representatives of the ECO Secretariat and regional and international partner organizations. The event is aimed to strengthen collective efforts toward enhancing disaster resilience across the ECO region, the PID said.
“Key agenda items include regional cooperation on early warning systems, disaster risk information management, landslide hazard zoning, inclusive disaster preparedness initiatives, and Pakistan’s proposal to establish a Regional Innovation Hub on Disaster Risk Reduction, focusing on early warning technologies, satellite data utilization, and risk-informed infrastructure planning,” the statement said.
The meeting was attended by delegations from ECO member states including Pakistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of regional and international organizations and development partners were also in attendance.
Discussions focused on enhancing regional coordination, harmonizing disaster risk reduction frameworks, and strengthening collective preparedness against transboundary and climate-induced hazards impacting the ECO region, the PID said.
ECO members states such as Pakistan, Türkiye, Afghanistan and others have faced natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes in recent years that have killed tens of thousands of people.
Heavy rains triggered catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022 and 2025 that killed thousands of people and caused damages to critical infrastructure, inflicting losses worth billions of dollars.
Islamabad has since then called on regional countries to join hands to cooperate to avert future climate disasters and promote early warning systems to avoid calamities in future.
