Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed all the security agencies to ensure fool-proof security arrangements for the Chinese nationals working on various projects in the country.
He chaired a meeting about the security situation in the country more than a week after five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Last Tuesday, a vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted the convoy of Chinese engineers in the remote Besham area when they were being driven to a construction site of the Dasu Hydroelectric power station in Kohistan district of the same province.
According to a statement, the prime minister said he had decided to “personally review the meetings with respect to the overall security of the country, especially the security of the Chinese citizens”.
Sharif said the war against the menace of terrorism will continue till its complete eradication from the country.
He directed the interior ministry to uproot terrorism from the country and to increase collaboration with the provinces to further improve the provincial anti-terrorism departments.
The prime minister also instructed the ministry to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for the regular audit of the security SOPs (standard operating procedures).
He was briefed in detail by the interior ministry about the overall law and order situation of the country and the performance of the ministry.
The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, senior officials of the security agencies and other concerned high officials.
On Thursday, President Asif Ali Zardari called on Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and asserted that Pakistan would take all measures for the security of the Chinese nationals employed on various projects in the country.
China expressed concern about last week’s attack and demanded the safety of their nationals working on various projects in Pakistan.
Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
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