Bilawal urges govt to enhance security for CPEC projects

KARACHI, August 18: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday afternoon urged the federal government to revamp the security of CPEC projects.

Speaking at a news conference here, the PPP chairman said the security details of the CPEC should be revamped after the July 14 terrorist attack in Dasu, that left 10 Chinese nationals and three Pakistanis dead.

“There is no confusion. Prime Minister Imran Khan should also not be confused. CPEC needs enhanced security,” he said.

He said terrorist activities were carried out in Dasu and Karachi and if the government does not pay attention towards it, then these incidents will increase.

Last week, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) were involved in the Dasu incident.

The Dasu incident took place when a bus carrying the engineers and workers to an under-construction site of Dasu hydropower project fell into a ravine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after an explosion.

Pakistani and Chinese security experts are jointly investigating the Dasu bus terror attack to trace the “hidden hands” behind the tragic incident. In a recent official meeting in China, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to jointly combat terrorism and also to take joint actions to address the spillover effect into Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

Also last month, a Chinese national was shot and wounded in an attack in Karachi city. Police said they were currently investigating the attack. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian described the incident as “an isolated case,” adding that China had “full confidence in Pakistan’s protection of Chinese citizens and property in Pakistan.”