Woman planning attacks on Chinese workers arrested

QUETTA: Pakistani security forces acting on intelligence arrested a woman who was allegedly planning atacks on Chinese working on construction projects in the southwest, authorities said on Monday.

The arrest was announced by the counterterrorism department in Balochistan province.

In a statement, it said the woman is a member of the Balochistan Liberation Army, a Balochistan-based separatist group.

Monday’s arrest came hours before Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang conveyed his condolences over the April killings and promised maximum security for Chinese working in Pakistan. Thousands of Chinese engineers, experts and laborers are working on projects launched in Pakistan in recent years for the China-pakistan Economic Corridor, which is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.

Shahbaz Sharif held a comprehensive telephone call with Li Keqiang on Monday during which he affirmed the government’s firm resolve to fast track China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

An official statement said Sharif expressed the government’s resolve to fast track ongoing and new CPEC projects which had “immensely contributed to the socio-economic development of Pakistan.” He highlighted the need for both sides to work together and enhance cooperation between the relevant agencies of the two countries in order to fully operationalise special economic zones (SEZS) as soon as possible.

“While recalling Pakistan-china sister-city partnerships, the prime minister expressed his desire to learn from the experience of those Chinese officials who have remained instrumental in seting up SEZS in their provinces,” the statement said.

Sharif also expressed his commitment to working with renewed zeal and enthusiasm in tandem with China, especially on projects of strategic significance for both the countries, such as the ML-1 [rail] project.

He thanked the neighbouring country for its firm support to “Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national development and reaffirmed his government’s unwavering support to China on all issues of its core interest.”

Sharif also offered his condolences to the government and the people of China over the deaths of three Chinese scholars in a suicide blast at Karachi University on April 26.

Meanwhile, all the Chinese teachers at the NED University Karachi have let their country due to the security concerns ater the suicide atack at the University of Karachi (KU) on April 26.