Islamabad: Taliban militants plan to
target Chinese nationals working on development projects in northwest Pakistan, according to an alert issued by a federal
government organisation.
The militants have plans to target Chinese workers in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the adjoining Federally
Administered Tribal Areas, The Nation daily quoted a
communiqué from the National Crisis Management Centre as
saying.
Law enforcement agencies too have informed the
government about possible terrorist attacks on Chinese
nationals. The federal Interior Ministry has directed
authorities to put in place strict security measures for
foreigners working in Pakistan.
The National Crisis Management Centre has alerted the
interior department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Additional
Chief Secretary of the tribal areas and the heads of the
Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Corps about possible
attacks on Chinese citizens.
The Cell directed authorities to put in place extra
security measures. Following this, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government decided to depute extra police and paramilitary personnel at sites of development projects to protect Chinese engineers and other workers.
The commissioners and Deputy Inspector Generals of
police of all seven divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have been
directed to frame a security plan for Chinese nationals.
Chinese engineers and workers working on key projects like
dams were targeted by Taliban militants in the past.
Chinese nationals working in Beijing-aided projects
have been attacked by gunmen in Pakistan`s troubled
south-western province of Balochistan.
Three Chinese engineers were killed by gunmen in
Balochistan in 2006.
PTI
