Every Chinese national will be protected as top priority, Pakistani Interior Minister tells Ambassador Nong Rong

Islamabad: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has assured Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong that every Chinese national in Pakistan was safe and would be protected as a top priority.

“The government will beef up security of Chinese citizens and Chinese companies operating in Pakistan. In this regard we are working on a joint strategy (with China),” he said during the meeting. The Minister said the Pakistani government will not allow terrorists to take hostage the mutual cooperation and development of Pakistan and China.

The meeting came after a suicide bombing targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in southwestern Pakistan killed two children and wounded three on Friday. The suicide blast took place at the East Bay Road in the port of Gwadar early Friday morning. Chinese nationals sustained minor injuries, a police statement said. Gwadar is in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant organization, claimed responsibility for the attack. “BLA carried out a ‘self-sacrificing’ attack against a convoy of Chinese engineers,” the group said in a statement.

Later, in a statement, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan urged Pakistan to ensure such incidents will not happen again: “The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan strongly condemns this act of terrorism, extends its sincere sympathies to the injured of both countries, and expresses its deep condolences to the innocent victims in Pakistan. . . .The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan . . . (is) demanding Pakistan to properly treat the wounded, conduct a thorough investigation of the attack, and severely punish the perpetrators.”

China is engaged in the development of the Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea as part of a US $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is itself part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure project.

Pakistan is already undertaking a comprehensive review of security of Chinese nationals in the country, the Pakistani interior ministry said. In July, an attack on a bus in the northwestern province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa killed 13 people, including 10 Chinese workers. Two Pakistani soldiers were also killed.

In the Sunday meeting with Ambassador Nong Rong, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Pakistan will not allow the terrorists to dictate terms. He said no conspiracy can affect the CPEC, which he termed as the lifeline of Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion the Chinese Ambassador said security protocols for Chinese citizens and companies should be tightened. He said China and Pakistan will continue to cooperate for bilateral friendship and regional prosperity.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed later also posted a picture with Ambassador Rong where both of them are enjoying cigars. The picture was aimed to demonstrate the level of frankness and friendship.