‘Chinese confidence in Pak’s security system seriously shaken’

ISLAMABAD: There may have been no exodus of Chinese workers from Pakistan after the Karachi University attack, but they look less confident about the country’s ability to protect them, says a Senator.

“The Chinese confidence in Pakistan’s security system’s ability to protect their citizens and their projects is seriously shaken,” Dawn news quoted Senator Mushahid Hussain, chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, as saying.

Mushahid led a Senate delegation to the Chinese embassy last week to express his condolences over the deaths of three Chinese nationals in a suicide attack on their van on the university’s premises last month. It was the third terrorist attack on Chinese citizens on Pakistani soil in a year.

“It has caused serious concern and understandable indignation in China. More so, the pattern of attacks is so recurring and it’s clear that Pakistani promises of ‘foolproof security’ are mere words, not matched by countermeasures on the ground,” he was quoted as saying by Dawn news.

Criticising the security arrangements, he said security agencies seemed to have been caught napping. “If such attacks continue, not just Chinese but other foreign investors will be forced to review their role in Pakistan.” There were reports on social media of Chinese workers leaving Pakistan in large numbers after the attack.

A Chinese source denied such reports, adding that it was a regular movement of Chinese workers and citizens living in Pakistan on a weekly flight from Karachi that was presented by some as an “exodus”.

The source, however, noted that terrorist attacks do impact the confidence of the Chinese community living here. Pak FIA’s cybercrime wing said the tweet claiming that thousands of Chinese were leaving from Karachi’s airport because of threats was a “baseless and panic-creating video tweet”.

Head of FIA Cyber Crime Sindh Imran Riaz told Dawn that action would be taken against the person who tweeted it once the ongoing investigations were complete.

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