Pakistan Army has decided to depute special security division for the protection of Chinese working in Pakistan. According to ISPR, "A special security division, comprising Army Battalions and CAF wings, is being raised as a dedicated force for Pak-China economic projects". The Army is creating a special security division for the protection of Chinese engineers, project directors, experts and workers employed on various Chinese funded projects across Pakistan, the President said.
The Upper House of the Parliament passed The Securities Bill, 2015, which provides amending and consolidating law for the regulation of the securities industry and the protection of investors. A Special Security Division is being set up for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said the division, comprising nine battalions of Pakistan Army and six battalions of civilian security forces, will be deputed on the security of foreigners and Pakistanis working on the construction of CPEC.
AFP adds: Security fears linger over the project which involves major construction in highly unstable areas. But away from the handshakes and backslapping, there are real security concerns over much of the plan, which relies on developing Gwadar - control of which was passed to a Chinese company in 2013.
The port lies east of the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the Middle East''''s crude production passes. But linking Gwadar to the rest of Pakistan and on to the western Chinese city of Kashgar, 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) away, would involve major infrastructure work in Balochistan.
This is one of Pakistan''''s most unstable provinces. Ethnic Baloch rebels have in the past blown up numerous gas pipelines and trains and attacked Chinese engineers. Earlier this month, the Balochistan Liberation Front claimed an attack in the province that left 20 construction workers from elsewhere in Pakistan dead, the bloodiest separatist incident since 2006.
Siddiq Baloch, editor of the Balochistan Express newspaper, said the rebels want to scare off investors and developers who are working with the Pakistani government - such as the Chinese. "There is the thinking that by doing this, they want to disrupt the working of the economy, disrupt the administration, challenge the administration in the area," he told AFP.
Suppressing the rebellion by force in Balochistan''''s desolate and sparsely-populated landscape, much of which is desert and mountains, has proven difficult. Abdul Malik Baloch, the Balochistan chief minister, said strenuous efforts were under way to negotiate with the rebels.
"This is my honest opinion, this is the only way - to start talking and bring the insurgents to the table," he told AFP. In a bid to allay fears, Xi''''s Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain told him a special army division would be given responsibility for the safety of Chinese workers, a presidential source told AFP. Miscreants on Monday attacked an airport in Gwadar district, causing damage but no casualties, in a vivid reminder of the dangers.
Andrew Small, author of "The China-Pakistan Axis", said China''''s recent experience of working in Pakistan had given it a good idea of which projects could proceed in spite of security worries. "China is certainly not completely confident that all the projects will be protected, but they think these security problems are one of the main reasons that it''''s so important that they move ahead, for the sake of Pakistan''''s stability," he told AFP.
Even if not all the projects envisaged in the corridor plan went ahead, Small said, "the scale is so large that it should still have a major economic impact regardless". And while the Chinese projects dwarf an American assistance package to Pakistan of $5 billion that began in 2010, Small said Beijing was not interested in supplanting Washington in the region, preferring to see the US maintain its support.
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