Chinese firms in Pakistan step up security measures

Chinese businesses in Pakistan are operating without disruption, though they are ramping up precautions to ensure the safety of personnel and projects in accordance with official guidelines, after a terrorist attack in Karachi killed three Chinese nationals on Tuesday afternoon.

A suicide attack on a shuttle bus used by Karachi’s Confucius Institute occurred on Tuesday afternoon, killing three Chinese teachers and their local driver and injuring another person, according to a release from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

After the attack, several state- owned companies that are deeply involved in Belt and Road projects in the country assured the Global Times that their local employees are safe and the projects have not been disrupted.

PowerChina, a major participant in the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship cooperation project, said that their personnel and projects have not been affected by the attack.

A person with domestic mining conglomerate China Metallurgical Group Corp, which has copper mining business in the country and a branch office in Karachi, said that business is going on as normal, with strengthened security measures.

Given the situation on the ground, the company has been strengthening security measures in recent years, the person said.

The company operates several mining projects in Pakistan, including the Saindak copper- gold mine project in west Pakistan.

China State Construction said that it had received the notification from the Chinese Embassy asking it to strengthen security precautions. The Embassy also provided emergency phone numbers.

“The company organized a meeting about security work in Pakistan on Wednesday afternoon, during which our security officers offered suggestions to raise the level of security inside the company,” China State Construction told the Global Times.