Shehbaz to review new security plan for Chinese nationals in Pak

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will review a new security plan for Chinese nationals working in the country in the wake of the suicide attack at the University of Karachi that claimed the lives of three Chinese individuals and a local man, a media report said.

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, The Express Tribune report said.

Sources said the security plan would be presented to Sharif in the first week after Eid.

They added that the premier had also directed Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Ahsan Iqbal to meet the country heads of all the Chinese companies working in the country to seek their input in security and other arrangements.

The sources said that Iqbal was scheduled to visit Gwadar soon after Eid to examine the security arrangements and complaints, if any, by the Chinese companies and nationals working on CPEC projects.

In addition, Sharif 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 report said.

Apart from security arrangements, the sources said, the Ministries have been asked to examine the challenges confronted by CPEC projects and see what problems were the Chinese nationals facing for the last four years in connection with their work, visa issuance as well as extension among other matters.