Pakistan afraid of TTP, deploys 1,500 armed soldiers to protect Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islamabad: In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as many as 1500 police officers from the Special Security Unit have been deployed in the province to ensure the security of the Chinese nationals employed in different projects. This was stated by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan at a ceremony held at the China Window in Peshawar on Wednesday, according to local media reports. The special security unit includes a large number of officers from the district police, elite force, and Frontier Reserve Police. The senior police official said he had inspected several projects to assess the security procedures in the region. Security will be provided to all individuals who play an important part in the development of the state and province, he added. A total of 495 terrorist attacks took place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last year, the police official said, while emphasizing the significance of police actions to protect foreign nationals and their projects. China–Pakistan Economic Corridor Last month, news agency ANI reported that the Pakistan Army along with the local police in Charsadda held an important meeting regarding CPEC routes, security of Mohmand Dam and Chinese working on various projects in the district. The meeting decided to launch a targeted operation against criminals across the district. It was agreed that all exit and entry points to the district would be sealed and security beefed up to avert any eventuality. Rising Terror While on one hand Pakistan’s worsening security situation has become a matter of great concern for the Chinese officials, on the other hand Islamabad’s financial crisis has put Beijing’s massive investments at risk. The CPEC is a $65 billion network of roads, railways, pipelines, and ports in Pakistan connecting China to the Arabian Sea. In recent times, there has been a major spike in terror attacks in parts of Pakistan, particularly involving the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which called off a truce with the Shehbaz Sharif-led government late last year. As per reports, the Pak Taliban’s target is Pakistan’s military and security personnel, as it aims to establish the rule of Shariat as interpreted by their Afghan counterparts. Not just the local people of Pakistan, these terror attacks have rattled an already jittery China as various militant groups in Pakistan have been frequently targeting Chinese nationals working on CPEC, aiming to threaten a major segment of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, reports said. Unhappy with the situation, China has been demanding foolproof security to its nationals working in Pakistan’s restive regions. In Pakistan’s Punjab, the local government had a few weeks ago told Chinese nationals residing in the province that it will not provide security to all of them and asked them to hire private security firms for the purpose. Chinese Embassy shuts Consular Section In February, it was reported that China has temporarily closed the consular section of its embassy in Pakistan due to “technical issues”. This comes days after the Xi Jinping-led Chinese government advised its citizens to be extremely cautious while in Pakistan due to the security situation. Read Full Report: Chinese Embassy in Pakistan shuts consular section after threats from Pak Taliban, Baloch fighters Back then, a source in Islamabad’s Diplomatic Enclave informed News18 that the Chinese embassy was receiving threats from Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) and Baloch militants continuously. Therefore, after consulting with Beijing, the embassy decided to suspend its consular services to avoid any mishaps, the source added. Further, the source alleged that China is not happy with the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government in Pakistan as the attacks on Chinese citizens and CPEC projects are on rise. “If Islamabad can’t protect our citizens, projects and interests, we know the way”, China has reportedly said, the source claimed. Attacks on Chinese nationals In April last year, a female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers in Karachi along with their local driver. Before that, in July 2021, 10 Chinese nationals, mostly engineers, were killed and 26 others were seriously injured after a suicide attack on a bus that was ferrying them to the work site of the Dasu Hydropower Project in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (With inputs from agencies) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.