Boao, China:
Pakistan and China’s discussions on security measures to protect Chinese nationals working in the Southern Asian country are ongoing work, Islamabad ambassador in Beijing said on Wednesday.
It is the “national responsibility” of Pakistan and the country “does everything that is possible,” said ambassador Khalil Hashmi at the sidelines of the Boao forum in the Chinese province of Hainan.
“I think our two countries work very closely in terms of information sharing, in terms of the development of standard operational procedures” to ensure that Chinese nationals working in Pakistan are safe, he said. “We hold our Chinese friends informed of the measures we take, so it’s a work in progress.”
Beijing has prompted Islamabad to allow its own security personnel to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the series of attacks against its citizens. The push occurred after a bombing at Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who returned to work in a power plant.
Hashmi said these talks were underway, with a high degree of confidence between the two countries. “It is a complex security environment,” he said, “we have the capacity to solve, counter and fight and defeat these terrorist forces.”
