China turns up heat on Pakistan; demands extra security for CPEC & Chinese workers

China has asked Pakistan to furr upgre security of Chinese personnel and projects under bilateral ecomic corridor in country, a media report said on Friday. Chinese demand came after July 14 bus blast in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in which 13 people, including nine Chinese personnel, were killed.

Pakistan's Planning and Development Minister As Umar, speaking to press after co-chairing Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of China-Pakistan Ecomic Corridor (CPEC), said both sides agreed to “arrest those guilty of  heius crime and get m sentenced by courts at earliest”, Dawn newspaper reported.

On July 14, a bus carrying Chinese engineers and construction workers exploded before falling into a deep ravine in Dasu area of Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Chinese nationals were engd in building a dam, which is part of USD 60 billion CCPEC. At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals and two Frontier Corps soldiers, died and 39 ors were injured. China termed incident "a bomb attack". So far, it is t clear if blast was caused by a technical failure or vehicle was hit by an explosion.

Vice-chairman of National Development and Reform Commission, China, Ning Jizhe co-chaired meeting on Friday. JCC -- mandated to convene twice every year -- h t met after vember 2019 due to COVID-19 outbreak.

China and Pakistan mutually agreed to raise security of CPEC projects and Chinese workers in country, Dawn quoted Minister Umar as saying. minister said since bus blast work at Dasu Hydroelectric project site h stalled, ding that project was longer part of CPEC.

Ackwledging Chinese side's request for security, Umar said Pakistan realises that scope of projects being handled between two countries was increasing and so security needs to be upgred as well. Meanwhile, "iron brors" decided to keep tariff and tax policies unchanged in power sector.

CPEC connecting China's resource-rich Xinjiang province with Pakistan''s strategic Gwar port in Balochistan is regarded as flagship project of multi-billion Belt and Ro Initiative, pet scheme of Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at furring China's influence globally with Chinese funded infrastructure projects. In dition to CPEC, China has invested in more than 200 projects in Pakistan.

India has objected to CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

(Im: AP)