Chinese contractors halted construction on two major dam projects in Pakistan following the suicide bomb attack that killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver this week. The companies are demanding for new security measures to be drawn by the Pakistan authorities before reopening the sites where around 1,250 Chinese nationals are working.
The security of Chinese workers are important to both Beijing and Islamabad, as terrorists have frequently been targeted by Chinese nationals as they remain hostile to outside influence.
The suicide bomber on Tuesday targeted workers by ramming a vehicle laden with explosives onto their vehicle on a mountainous road near one of the dam sites. The explosives were detonated by the suicide bomber on impact while plunged their vehicle into a deep ravine.
China Gezhouba Group Company has halted work on the Dasu dam in the province and Power China has stopped work on Diamer Bhasha dam, Pakistani news media outlets as well as AFP reported, citing a senior official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“They have demanded new security plans from the government. Around 750 Chinese engineers are engaged in the Dasu Dam project, while 500 are working on the Diamer Bhasha Dam,” he said.
The movement of Chinese engineers has been restricted to the compounds where they live, close to the sites, he further added. China repeatedly urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of its nationals this week.
Chinese engineers are still working at the site of the Mohmand Dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Resentment against China is not a new phenomenon in often-struggling Pakistan, even though Beijing is Islamabad’s closest regional ally and has readily provided financial assistance to the country.
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”.
The attack on Tuesday comes days after militants attempted to storm offices of the Gwadar deepwater port in the southwest. The Gwadar deepwater port is the bedrock 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.
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