Pakistan to set up special force for security of foreign nationals in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to establish a special force for the security of foreigners, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday, days after militant attacks targeted foreign nationals in the South Asian country.

The decision was made at a meeting presided over by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to review the law-and-order situation in the federal capital territory.

The development came days after a suicide attack targeted a van carrying Japanese nationals, who were on their way to work in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

During the meeting, the interior minister directed authorities to ensure foolproof security of foreign nationals in Islamabad, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

“Special attention should be given to the security of all important offices and places including the red zone in Islamabad,” the report read.

During the meeting, Islamabad police chief, Ali Nasir Rizvi, also gave a detailed briefing on the law-and-order situation in the capital.

Pakistan has witnessed militant attacks on foreign nationals in recent months, particularly the Chinese working in Pakistan on projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major segment of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Late last month, five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in northwest Pakistan, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the bus carrying them to Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, where they worked.

The attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Balochistan Liberation Army separatists who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Balochistan province.