Pakistan official says China halts work on two projects after deadly attack

According to a provincial official who spoke to AFP on Friday, Chinese contractors have stopped work on two significant dam projects in Pakistan following the suicide bomber’s killing of five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver this week.

Before reopening the locations where some 1,250 Chinese nationals are employed, the corporations have insisted, according to the official, that Pakistani authorities devise new security procedures.

Both nations have serious concerns about the security of Chinese labourers, as Chinese citizens are regularly the targets of extremists who are against foreign influence.

On a winding route close to one of the dam sites, a suicide bomber struck the workers’ car on Tuesday, targeting them.

His explosives exploded on collision, sending their car tumbling into a deep chasm.

A senior official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interior department told AFP on condition of anonymity that since Wednesday, China Gezhouba Group Company has halted work on the Dasu dam in the province and Power China has stopped work on Diamer Bhasha dam, which straddles two provinces.

“They have demanded new security plans from the government,” he said.

“Around 750 Chinese engineers are engaged in the Dasu Dam project, while 500 are working on the Diamer Bhasha Dam,” he added.

He said the movement of Chinese engineers has been restricted to the compounds where they live, close to the sites.

China has not commented, but this week repeatedly urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of its nationals.

‘Iron-clad friends’

Beijing is Islamabad’s closest regional ally, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbour.

China has inked more than two trillion dollars in contracts around the world under its Belt and Road investment scheme, with billions pouring into infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

But Pakistanis have long complained that they are not getting a fair share of jobs or wealth created by the projects.

Tuesday’s attack sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the foreign and interior ministers offering condolences in quick succession.

China’s foreign ministry declared the countries “iron-clad friends” but asked Pakistan to “take effective measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions”.

Tuesday’s attack came just days after militants attempted to storm offices of the Gwadar deepwater port in the southwest, considered a cornerstone of Chinese investment in Pakistan.

In 2019, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Balochistan province overlooking the flagship Chinese-backed deepwater seaport in Gwadar that gives strategic access to the Arabian Sea – killing at least eight people.

In June 2020, Baloch insurgents targeted the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which is partly owned by Chinese companies, in the commercial capital of Karachi.