Joint investigation team from China and Pakistan working on Dasu incident

By Pervaiz Mughal

ISLAMABAD: 19 July 2021 Pakistan's Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said that a joint investigation team of experts from China and Pakistan were working on the Dasu blast incident. "There are 15 people from their side and 15 from our side [probing the blast]," he said, adding that Pakistan Army and intelligence personnel as well as the Chinese investigation team visited the blast site Saturday to probe the case. The minister said China had appreciated Pakistan for its investigation and cooperation in the Dasu blast, adding that the Chinese had conveyed to Pakistan that both countries should be on the same page.

The Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed rejected reports that work on the Dasu dam had been stopped, adding that all CPEC projects and work on Pakistani dams will not be disrupted. Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri on Sunday said work on Dasu hydropower project would resume soon as both Pakistan and China remained committed to the timely completion of this project and others being undertaken with Chinese cooperation. Responding to media queries regarding a notification by the Chinese company, the spokesperson in a statement said, the Chinese construction company, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) through its latest notification has declared its earlier notice, about contract termination of employment of Pakistani personnel working on Dasu Hydropower Project, null and void. He further said matters regarding security and execution of the project were being looked into, and the relevant authorities from Pakistan and China have been in close contact on the same.