Boao (TDI): Pakistan and China’s discussions about security measures to protect Chinese nationals working in Pakistan are a work in progress, Islamabad’s ambassador to Beijing said on Wednesday.
The two nations have had close ties and Chinese investment and financial support for Pakistan since 2013 have been a boon for its struggling economy.
China has thousands of citizens working on projects grouped under CPEC.
The $65-billion investment is part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to China’s global reach by road, rail and sea.
Militants who target Chinese citizens seek to undermine Pakistan-China ties, spread terrorism, destabilize Pakistan’s security and economy and achieve financial gains.
It is Pakistan’s “national responsibility” and Islamabad is “doing everything possible”, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told journalist at the margins of the Boao Forum in China’s Hainan province.
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“I think our two nations work very closely in terms of information sharing, in terms of developing the standard operating procedures” to ensure Chinese citizens working in Pakistan are safe, he said.
“We keep our Chinese friends informed of the measures that we are taking, so it’s a work in progress.”
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Hashmi said those negotiations are ongoing, with a high degree of trust between both nations.
He said, “It’s a complex security environment.”
“We have the ability to resolve, to counter and defeat these terrorist forces.”
