PESHAWAR: Chinese contractors have halted construction on two major dam projects in Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver this week, a provincial official told AFP on Friday.
The companies have demanded that Pakistan authorities come up with new security plans before reopening the sites where around 1,250 Chinese nationals are working, the official said.
The security of Chinese workers is a major concern to both countries, with nationals frequently targeted by militants hostile to outside influence.
The workers were targeted on Tuesday by a suicide bomber who rammed into their vehicle on a mountainous road near one of the dam sites.
He detonated his explosives on impact, plunging their vehicle into a deep ravine.
A senior official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interior department told AFP on condition of anonymity that since Wednesday, China Gezhouba Group Company has halted work on the Dasu dam in the province and Power China has stopped work on Diamer Bhasha dam, which straddles two provinces.
“They have demanded new security plans from the government,” he said.
“Around 750 Chinese engineers are engaged in the Dasu Dam project, while 500 are working on the Diamer Bhasha Dam,” he added.
He said the movement of Chinese engineers has been restricted to the compounds where they live, close to the sites.
China has not commented, but this week repeatedly urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of its nationals.
Beijing is Islamabad’s closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor.
China has inked more than two trillion dollars in contracts around the world under its Belt and Road investment scheme, with billions pouring into infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
But Pakistanis have long complained that they are not getting a fair share of jobs or wealth created by the projects.
Tuesday’s attack sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the foreign and interior ministers offering condolences in quick succession.
China’s foreign ministry declared the countries “iron-clad friends” but asked Pakistan to “take effective measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions.”
Tuesday’s attack came just days after militants attempted to storm offices of the Gwadar deepwater port in the southwest, considered a cornerstone of Chinese investment in Pakistan.
In 2019, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Balochistan province overlooking the flagship Chinese-backed deepwater seaport in Gwadar that gives strategic access to the Arabian Sea — killing at least eight people.
In June 2020, Baloch insurgents targeted the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which is partly owned by Chinese companies, in the commercial capital of Karachi.
Pakistan official says China halts work on two projects after deadly attack
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Pakistan official says China halts work on two projects after deadly attack
- The companies have demanded Pakistan authorities come up with new security plans before reopening the sites
- The security of Chinese workers, who are frequently targeted by militants, is a major concern to both countries
Pakistan says mosque data collection in Indian-administered Kashmir violates religious freedom
- Indian police distributed forms to collect details of mosques, including finances of institutions and personal details of imams
- The exercise has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with a local leader calling it ‘infringement of the religious freedom’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned reported profiling of mosques and their management committees in Indian-administered Kashmir, calling it “blatant intrusion into religious affairs.”
Police distributed forms to local officials to collect details of mosques, seminaries in Indian-administered Kashmir, including finances of the institutions, personal details of imams and members of management committees, Hindustan Times reported this week, citing residents.
The police referred to the busting of a “white collar terror module” last year, which included an imam, as the reason for the exercise that has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi calling it “infringement of the religious freedom.”
Pakistan’s foreign office said the forcible collection of personal details, photographs and sectarian affiliations of religious functionaries amounts to systematic harassment, aimed at “instilling fear among worshippers and obstructing the free exercise of their faith.”
“This blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief, and reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalize the Muslim population of the occupied territory,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both countries have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region, which is ruled in part but claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan.
The Pakistani foreign office said the people of Indian-administered Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practice their religion “without fear, coercion or discrimination.”
“Pakistan will continue to stand in solidarity with them and will persist in raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance targeting Kashmiris,” it added.
