Govt taking steps to enhance security for Chinese nationals: Foreign Office

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): The Pakistan government was taking steps at the national and provincial levels to enhance the security arrangements for Chinese nationals and companies, said the Foreign Office Spokesperson here on Friday.

During the weekly press briefing, he said, “There is a clear, continuing and strong commitment from the leadership that the Chinese nationals and companies working
in Pakistan, specifically on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, and in the context of protection of CPEC itself, is very important and we are taking all necessary steps to provide foolproof security to them.”

“We also remain in touch with our Chinese friends on any possible moves that we may need to take at other fora to advance our shared objectives with regard to countering terrorism and protecting CPEC and related personnel and infrastructure.

There is continuing discussion with the Chinese side. One thing is clear both sides are cognizant of the threats, and ill-designs of some, but we are confident that we will together take steps to effectively deal with the challenge and to take forward the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”

The Spokesperson said there were news reports about the closure of Confucius Institutes in Pakistan and return of Chinese staff.

“However, this matter has been adequately clarified by the Chinese Embassy already. I want to add and clarify this matter further that all Confucius Institutes in Pakistan remain operational. Online and physical classes are being held by both Chinese and Pakistani teachers,” he added.

He said there was hope for stability in Afghanistan after all those years of conflict, and there was the imminent humanitarian crisis about which Pakistan took the lead in doing a lot of advocacy in terms of assisting Afghanistan.

“Also there were some things that emerged in terms of common expectations of the international community, and in fact the Afghan interim authorities also responded positively to those common expectations initially and I am talking about the question of inclusivity, human rights, including women and girls’ rights to education, and the Afghan territory not being allowed to be used for terrorism against other countries. There were clear commitments from the interim Afghan authorities.”

With regard to these expectations, particularly on human rights and women and girls’ issues, there were lingering concerns that those expectations had not been met, he added.

The Spokesperson said Pakistan had a shared view with the international community. “We think that it is in the best interest of Afghanistan itself to show progress and positive movement on these issues, which will enable the international partners to engage more constructively with Afghanistan. This is important because Afghanistan needs the continuing engagement, assistance and support of the international community.”

Similarly, on the terrorism issue, there were continuing concerns, he said adding, “Pakistan itself has been affected by that in recent weeks and we take it very seriously and continue to raise it with the Afghan authorities.”