Police ban Chinese citizens without security, bulletproof cars

The police Wednesday imposed a ban on the movement of Chinese citizens without private security and bulletproof conveyance.

Islamabad: Police ban Chinese citizens without security, bulletproof cars. After this decision, some Chinese business individuals found themselves restricted to hotels due to security concerns.

Moreover, the police issued a letter stressing the security of Chinese personnel involved in non-CPEC projects.

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Meanwhile, the Home Department clarified that within two days, projects not using bulletproof vehicles will be stopped unless they acquire such vehicles.

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)  is a 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project in construction in Pakistan. This sea-and-land-based corridor is aimed to secure and reduce the passage for China’s energy imports from the Middle East, by avoiding the existing route from the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, which, in case of war could be blockaded, and thus hamper the Chinese energy-dependent economic avenues. Developing a deep water port at Gwadar in the Arabian Sea and a well built road and rail line from this port to Xinjiang region in western China would be a shortcut for boosting the trade between Europe and China. In Pakistan, it aims to overcome an electricity shortfall, infrastructural development and modernize transportation networks. Along with shifting it from an agricultural based economic structure to industrial based.

CPEC is seen as the main plank of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and as of at least early 2024, is the BRI’s most developed land corridor. CPEC’s potential impact on Pakistan has been compared to that of the Marshall Plan, undertaken by the United States in post-war Europe. Pakistani officials predict that CPEC will result in the creation of upwards of 2.3 million jobs between 2015 and 2030, and add 2 to 2.5 percentage points to the country’s annual economic growth. As of 2022, it has enhanced Pakistan’s exports and development capacity and has provided 1/4th of its total electricity.