Islamabad: The Pakistan Army will raise another division-size special force to protect Chinese nationals and projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor has said, days after the brazen terror attack on a luxury hotel in Balochistan.
Describing the USD 50 billion CPEC as a living example of deep-rooted friendship between Pakistan and China, Ghafoor who is the Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the Pakistan army was fully determined to ensure the security of the project.
Talking to the Chinese media Saturday in Rawalpindi, Ghafoor said the Pakistan military had raised a whole division-size force to protect the project and they were planning to deploy another division for this purpose.
Earlier reports said a special security division (SSD) comprising 9,000 Pakistan army soldiers and 6,000 para-military forces personnel has been set up for the security of the CPEC project and Chinese nationals working on it.
Ghafoor meanwhile said Pakistan has faced a very challenging war against terrorism during the last two decades, and now the security situation is ‘under control’.
Talking about the CPEC role in the country, Ghafoor said the economic prosperity brought about by it will fail the motives of terrorists, as with the success of project more employment and business opportunities will be unveiled and with economic opportunities arriving, people’s lifestyle will improve and inimical elements will fail gradually.
The CPEC, launched in 2015, is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking China’s resource-rich Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.
Ghafoor said Pakistan was doing its best to create an environment where investors could come and do their business as the security situation had greatly improved.
“Though there are a few sporadic terrorist incidents, investors should not be discouraged by them and keep their trust intact in peace,” Ghafoor asserted.
PTI