Chinese CPEC workers to move in bullet-proof cars in Pakistan

Islamabad: Amid the growing concerns over the safety and security of Chinese nationals working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, Pakistan and China on Sunday agreed to use bullet-proof vehicles for all outdoor movement of Chinese workers.

“It has been decided that bullet-proof vehicles shall be used for all outdoor movements of the Chinese employed on projects,” said the draft minutes of the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC, which had been exchanged by Pakistan and China, reported The Express Tribune. Against general expectations, Pakistan and China did not sign the 11th JCC minutes during the two-day visit of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Beijing earlier this week.

In the past, the minutes were signed immediately after the JCC. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had said after the meeting that the minutes would be signed during the Prime Minister’s visit, reported The Express Tribune.

“Due to a very short visit of only 24 hours some of the memoranda of understanding, including the minutes of the JCC, could not be signed,” the Minister said.

“About 17 meetings took place in a span of 24 hours, which left no time for some other important engagements,” he said, adding that either a delegation would soon go to China for the singing or those would be signed virtually.

Both the sides have also agreed to strengthen capabilities of the law-enforcement agencies and investigators, reported The Express Tribune.

In order to speed up the investigations into the crimes, involving the Chinese nationals, it had been decided the National Forensic Science Agency (NFSA) would be built on modern lines.

The Pakistani side requested Chinese support for full upgrade of the National Forensic Science Lab in Islamabad. The Chinese side assured their full support for the purpose, according to the draft minutes, reported The Express Tribune.

The Chinese side has also committed to establish a training centre for the private security guards and the LEA personnel to equip them with the modern techniques and modules.
The decisions may help address the concerns of the government of China that was not moving forward on the CPEC front until the security of its nationals was fully guaranteed and Pakistan fulfilled its commitments under the energy deals.

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The draft minutes further showed that the Chinese side committed to providing security-related equipment for the capacity building of the Pakistani law-enforcement agencies, reported The Express Tribune.
Some terror attacks on Chinese nationals dealt a major blow to the execution of the CPEC projects. In the past, China had even demanded of Pakistan to let its security people protect the Chinese nationals, according to sources.

In view of increasing incidents of terrorism, involving the non-corridor projects, Pakistan had proposed the establishment of a separate joint working group for coordination on the security efforts.
But it was mutually decided that a Joint Technical Expert Working Group (JTEWG) would be established for the security of non-CPEC projects. The JTEWG would evaluate the services of private security companies, reported The Express Tribune.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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