Pakistan expands security for Chinese after Beijing's pressure

Officials insist on bulletproof cars as separatist merger raises fears of attacks

Pakistani officials inspect a car belonging to a Chinese national that was fired upon in a July 2021 attack in Karachi. The authorities are now insisting that Chinese personnel working in the country must use bulletproof vehicles. © Reuters

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

November 20, 2023 15:38 JST

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan is strengthening security for Chinese nationals working in the country as Beijing pressures Islamabad to do more to protect them from militants.

The Pakistani Interior Ministry held a high-level security meeting late last week and decided that strict protocols for Chinese personnel working on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects should also apply to experts and investors involved in unrelated endeavors. The new procedures require these individuals to register their residential addresses with local police and ensure that they only travel in bulletproof vehicles.