Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his recent meeting with Pakistan Prime
Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, has once again emphasized on ensuring the safety
and security of Chinese citizens working on various projects in Pakistan. The
Chinese President said that we hope that Pakistan will guarantee the protection of
Chinese institutions and officials. This statement of the Chinese President is being
considered important because attacks on Chinese citizens have increased in
Pakistan in recent times. China has been demanding strict action against the
groups involved in the attacks, but there has never been a statement asking for
any guarantee in this regard. According to experts, this shows that the Chinese
leadership is very concerned about the safety of its citizens who are working on
several projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan. These
projects include Chinese expatriates working in road construction, energy and
water projects, nuclear power projects, military-type projects and other private
enterprises that are mostly involved in technical activities. In the coming days,
work is also going to start on the ML-1 project to upgrade the railway line in
Pakistan at a cost of six billion dollars. Analyst and director of the Pakistan Institute
for Peace Studies, Mohammad Amir Rana, says the reasons for China’s security
concerns for its citizens are clear. There have been several deadly attacks on
Chinese citizens in Pakistan and it has become very difficult for them to work on
such projects. Rana says that China had expressed deep concern over the attack
on Karachi University or the attack on the bus of Chinese engineers working on
Dasu Dam, or other such incidents. It is noted that In July 2021, an incident of
terrorism took place during the construction of a dam in the Dasu area of Upper
Kohistan. In this attack, 13 people including nine Chinese engineers working on
the construction of the dam were killed and many were injured. On April 26 last
year, three Chinese teachers and a Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide blast
outside the Institute of Chinese Culture and Language in Karachi University. The
outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the blast.
Rana further says that in such a situation Pakistan has more responsibility to
provide full protection to Chinese citizens. According to him, Pakistan has to fulfill
the promises made by China regarding payments in various projects. Similarly, it is
also important to remove bureaucratic hurdles in many Chinese-supported
projects. These three major concerns are usually expressed by China. And if
these concerns are responded positively, China may be willing to invest more in
Pakistan. Security analyst Imtiaz Gul says that there is a proxy war between
various forces in Pakistan and it is being fueled by elements who are anti-China.
He says that the Chinese president definitely wants to provide protection to
Chinese citizens working in Pakistan. But providing security to everyone in a
country that is home to various conflicts is a difficult task. However, despite this,
Pakistan is trying hard in this regard. But despite these challenges, China seems
determined that it will not leave Pakistan alone and the projects related to CPEC
will be completed soon. In August, Chinese residents were targeted in Gwadar,
but luckily there were no casualties, and two suspects involved in the attack were
claimed to have been killed. Chinese nationals working in Pakistan have been
repeatedly threatened by Baloch separatists. Separatists have banned Chinese
nationals from working in Balochistan. Otherwise, they have been threatened with
dire consequences. These Baloch separatists believe that China is trying to
occupy the Baloch land. On the other hand, according to the statement issued by
Pakistan, during the meeting between the Chinese President and the Prime
Minister, emphasis was placed on building more mutual relations. Prime Minister
Kakar said that Pakistan and China are reliable partners and best friends. The two
leaders described the pace of the new round of CPEC construction as key to
creating a corridor for growth, employment, innovation, and green development.
(translation of Muhammad Saqib, Urdu, Voice of America, 20 Oct)
https://www.urduvoa.com/a/why-is-china-asking-for-security-of-its-citizens-in-
pakistan-20oct2023/7319395.html