Pakistan to setup security company for Chinese nationals

Pakistan and China have agreed to establish a joint venture security company to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.

Colonel Usman, the Director of Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), informed a parliamentary panel that Pakistan and China are collaborating to establish a joint security firm aimed at ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.

Colonel Usman informed the National Assembly Planning, Development and Reform Committee that Pakistan and China are preparing to sign a bilateral agreement on counter terrorism and the draft of this pact has already been prepared.

It may be mentioned here a joint working group from Pakistan and China visited China last month to discuss the security arrangements for Chinese nationals working and living in Pakistan.

Currently, approximately 20,000 Chinese nationals are living in Pakistan, with 2,700 of them working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Chinese nationals in Pakistan have been targeted 14 times since 2021.

These attacks have resulted in casualties, with 20 Chinese nationals killed and 34 injured. Eight Pakistanis were also killed in these incidents.

Officials highlighted that unlike rest of the country the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan is deteriorating.

The meeting was told that Harkat-ul-Islamic Ansar (HIA), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) are also involved in attacks against Chinese.

In 2024, Pakistani security forces have undertaken 7,984 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) to address terrorist threats.

Specifically, they conducted 3,882 operations in Punjab, 994 in Sindh, 2,807 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 285 in Balochistan, and 16 in Islamabad, as reported to the parliamentary panel.

Moreover, Pakistan is in the process of developing a mobile application designed to enhance the security of Chinese nationals living in the country.

The application will enable Pakistan to request the Chinese government to share the whereabouts of all Chinese citizens residing in Pakistan.

This initiative is part of Pakistan's broader efforts to address security concerns, particularly those related to CPEC projects and the growing presence of Chinese nationals in the country.