Pakistan Army team thrashed by Chinese labourers at CPEC; incident brushed under the rug

As Pakistan lends itself to further China's expansionist strategies through the communist country's ambitious China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), incidents of aggression and abuse of Pakistani soldiers from the project site continue to surface. In the latest report, a letter was retrieved from Pakistan Lieutenant Colonel Imran Qasim, recording the aggression of Chinese labourers in the region and the abuse faced by Pakistani soldiers at their hands, a clear indicator of the arm-twisting China is known for.   

According to the letter which was written to senior officials, Chinese labourers beat up a protection party of Pakistani Army soldiers tasked to look after them at the project site near the CPEC's Peshawar and Karachi mainline. The incident occurred on July 21, after the Chinese labourer team leader decided to move to the next site, leaving behind one Chinese labourer at the Peshawar-Karachi mainline to complete work. The Pakistani soldiers tasked to protect the labourers disagreed to this proposition, after which the Chinese labourers assaulted one of the havaldars in the group.

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Senior officials warn against retaliation 

Shortly after, a scuffle broke out between the parties, but it was the response of the top brass Pakistan army officers that disturbed Lieutenant colonel Imran Qasim. The Pakistani colonel in his letter recorded how such instances of abuse of Pakistani soldiers at the hands of Chinese labourers were brushed under the carpet by high command officers who asked them to avoid any confrontation or retaliation, no matter the level of belligerence and aggression shown by the Chinese side. 

The multi-billion-dollar CPEC is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China’s resource-rich Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. The project was launched in 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan. The communist country is now envisaging an investment of over USD 60 billion in different projects of development in Pakistan.

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