ISLAMABAD: China’s Interior Minister Qi Yanjun on Thursday appreciated Pakistan’s move to establish a Special Protection Unit (SPU) for foreigners, mainly Chinese nationals, in Islamabad, the interior ministry said. 

The interior ministry’s statement came following Yanjun’s meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi in New York, where both officials have arrived to attend the fourth UN COP conference. Naqvi called on the Chinese minister at the office of China’s mission in New York to discuss bilateral and security matters between the two countries. 

Naqvi announced earlier this month that Pakistan was setting up a Special Protection Unit (SPU) for foreigners in Islamabad amid a surge in attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan. China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan but both separatist and religiously motivated militants have attacked Chinese projects in recent years, killing Chinese personnel.

“Peoples Republic of China’s QI Yanjin appreciated the initiative of establishing the SPU in Islamabad for the protection of foreigners, especially Chinese citizens,” Pakistan’s interior ministry said. 

It said that the Chinese interior minister offered Beijing’s full cooperation in training and related matters for the SPU force. 

The most recent attack targeting Chinese nationals took place in March when five Chinese workers were killed in a suicide bombing. The Chinese personnel were on their way to a hydropower project funded by Beijing being built in Dasu in the country’s northwest when their vehicle was targeted. 

Naqvi briefed Yanjun about the progress in the Dasu attack during their meeting. The Chinese minister expressed satisfaction over the progress in the case, the ministry said. 

“Pakistani institutions traced this case through hard work and professionalism,” Yanjun was quoted as saying by the Pakistani interior ministry. 

The Chinese minister invited Naqvi to participate in the Global Security Forum scheduled to be held in China in September, the interior ministry said, adding that Naqvi accepted his invitation.

ATTACKS ON CHINESE INTERESTS

The March blast was the third major attack in a little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested more than $65 billion in infrastructure, energy and other projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

China has repeatedly called on Pakistan to ensure its nationals in the South Asian country are kept safe from militant attacks. Islamabad has since then taken measures to enhance the security of Chinese nationals in the country. 

Pakistan has alleged that its ongoing investigation and evidence into the Dasu attack has shown that the militants involved in it had been taking instructions from leaders of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan. 

Kabul has denied the allegations and has repeatedly assured Pakistan and other countries that its soil would not be used for militant attacks in other countries. 

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday vowed to introduce a resolution in response to the United States House of Representatives’ call for an impartial probe into the allegations of election irregularities in Pakistan’s recent national polls on February 8, saying it was important for the country to assert its sovereignty.
The US lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that urged Islamabad to uphold the democratic process and ensure the rule of law, freedom of media and speech.
The US resolution, which saw bipartisan support, followed the Pakistani elections marred by violence, communication blackouts and delayed results that led to allegations of rigging denied by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
“We will bring a resolution in response to the US resolution,” Dar said while addressing the National Assembly. “We must show our sovereignty. We must show our unity. We must show that we mean business. There is no sense to this [US resolution]. We can also criticize a number of things about other countries. But we refrain.”
“I believe that mutual dignity and respect is that they should reciprocate,” he continued. “We have taken notice of this, the draft resolution is ready. It will be shared with all the parliamentary leaders of both treasury benches and the opposition, and I would request that we must come in unity with a clear resolution in response to the US resolution.”
Dar said the National Assembly was currently busy passing the budget since it was a time-bound priority.
However, he noted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had allowed to move the resolution, which would be done as soon as the budget adoption process was complete by Friday evening.
Pakistan’s foreign office said a day earlier the US resolution was grounded in “an incomplete understanding of the political situation and electoral process in Pakistan.”
It noted the resolution’s timing and context clashed with the improving dynamics of bilateral ties.
“Such resolutions are therefore neither constructive nor objective,” it added.