‘Foolproof arrangements’ made for Chinese citizens’ security in Pakistan: Interior Minister Naqvi

New York/Islamabad, Jun 27 (PTI) Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said Pakistan is “proud” of its friendship with all-weather ally China, as he asserted that “foolproof arrangements” have been made for the security of Chinese nationals working on major infrastructure projects in some restive provinces.

Naqvi made the remarks during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qi Yanjun at the office of China’s mission to the United Nations in New York, Geo News reported. Both ministers are currently here to attend a United Nations conference.

“Foolproof arrangements have been made for the security of Chinese citizens,” Naqvi said as he briefed Qi about the progress on the investigation of the Dasu terror attack involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

On March 26, a vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted the convoy of Chinese engineers in the remote Besham area of Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when they were being driven to a construction site of the Dasu Hydroelectric power station in Kohistan district of the same province.

Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. “We are all proud of our friendship with China,” Naqvi was quoted as saying in the report.

Following the briefing, the Chinese minister expressed satisfaction over the case’s ongoing probe and said that Pakistani institutions handled the case in a “diligent and professional manner”, according to the report.

“Pakistan and China are all-weather friends. Pak-China friendship is stronger than steel,” he said.

The two ministers also discussed bilateral ties and security issues in the region.

During the meeting, the two ministers spoke about cooperation on training and capacity building of Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies through modern equipment and technology.

Qi appreciated the establishment of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in Islamabad, particularly aimed at protecting Chinese citizens in the country.

He also assured “full cooperation” in SPU training and other matters, the report said.

This comes after Pakistan’s government launched ‘Operation Azm-i-Istehkam’, a new counter-terrorism operation last week. It was launched after a high-ranking Chinese official singled out security as the foremost challenge threatening the future of the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.