ISLAMABAD: The police chief in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Sunday directed officials to take special security measures to ensure the protection of Chinese nationals working on different projects after recent attacks on them in the region.
Militant groups from Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have frequently targeted Chinese interests in the country.
Beijing has invested heavily in several projects in Balochistan that are part of a multibillion-dollar joint regional connectivity initiative taken by the two countries called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In April, three Chinese nationals were among four people killed when a suicide bomber blew herself up near at a university campus in the southern port city of Karachi. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The Sindh inspector general police (IGP) has issued instructions to prepare a list of all CPEC and private projects in the province involving Chinese nationals and citizens,” said a statement issued by the central police office in Karachi, “and ensure extraordinary security measures as part of a contingency plan.”
Sindh police IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon (center) hold a meeting to review security arrangements for Chinese workers in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 5, 2022. (Karachi Police)
The statement came after IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon chaired a meeting attended by top Sindh police officials to review security measures in place to protect the Chinese workers.
Last year, a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus, killing 13 people, including nine Chinese workers employed at the Dasu Hydropower Project in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
China has pledged over $60 billion for infrastructure projects in Pakistan under the CPEC framework. However, separatist militant groups in Balochistan have also targeted Chinese workers after taking up arms against the state.
