ISLAMABAD: Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi, the home secretary of Pakistan’s Punjab, met Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren on Wednesday to discuss security arrangements for Chinese nationals in the eastern province, the home department said in a statement.
The move follows Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement last week to enhance security measures for Chinese nationals across Pakistan, aiming to boost bilateral engagement under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Beijing has been frustrated by a string of attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan since last year. These attacks have mostly been carried out by separatist Baloch militant groups, who accuse Pakistan and China of depriving locals in Balochistan of a share in the province’s mineral resources. Beijing has invested in the province with a key port and has mining interests there as well. Both Islamabad and Pakistan deny the allegations.
“The meeting focused on the law and order situation in Punjab and the security arrangements for Chinese nationals,” the provincial home department said in a statement issued after the Shiren-Qazi meeting.
One of the attacks included a bombing at the Karachi airport last October that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work at a power plant. Beijing has called on Islamabad to bolster security for its nationals in Pakistan in recent months.
