Ahsan Iqbal, the new planning minister, tightens the screws on agencies
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Professor Ahsan Iqbal, the new planning minister, has bound the agencies to compare intelligence on the security of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) every month to ensure the safety of Chinese professionals working in Pakistan.
The order comes over a week after a suicide bomber blew herself up near a Chinese language center in Karachi University, killing three Chinese nationals and injuring others. Beijing came down hard on Islamabad over the security lapses that turned the Chinese teachers into sitting ducks allowing terrorists to take pot shots at them.
The Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives gave this decree in a meeting attended by the Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Ministry of Interior, Secretary Ministry of Information, and other relevant stakeholders, according to an official statement.
“We need to build a safe and secure environment for CPEC and effectively tackle kinetic/non-kinetic challenges,” Iqbal said.
“CPEC is a flagship project of Pakistan and China Economic Cooperation which can enable the country to become an industrial economy.”
He said it was unfortunate that the momentum of 2013-18 couldn’t be sustained.
He was unhappy over the fact that Pakistan’s side of CPEC’s Joint Working Group on Security had not been meeting frequently.
He directed the Ministry of Interior to regularly convene its meetings on a monthly basis.
“As without a coordinated effort there can be gaps which must be filled,” he added.
He said the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) should provide government with in-depth assessment of security challenges that are grounded in socioeconomics of the country.
“It will help the government to expand its security lens by addressing socioeconomic grievances of the people that may, if left unaddressed, translate into security challenges,” Iqbal said
“Our security lens must also focus on limiting the vulnerability of our youth towards violence, extremism and propaganda.”
The minister also vowed to undertake measures to ensure that youth was not alienated in the socio-economic development process especially in less developed regions of Pakistan.
Later in the meeting, Iqbal tasked all the line ministries to ensure that laid-down security protocols were followed by the Chinese working on CPEC projects in Pakistan.
“The propaganda against CPEC is an attempt to deny people of less developed regions in Pakistan the positive socio-economic externalities that will stem from the CPEC.”
He directed the officials to engage people at large on all levels to take them on board in the development process and form partnerships in the process.
“It is noted that after the recent incident in Karachi, the government had decided to ensure foolproof security of Chinese working across the country.”
The minister also directed the Secretary Ministry of Information to bring local regional media on board to engage youth of Balochistan.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
