AI
Monday, October 18, 2004 11:54:03 AM
China concerned over nationals' safety in Pakistan
18 Oct 2004 11:52:18 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with comments from Chinese official, Musharraf)
By Zeeshan Haider and Faisal Aziz
ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China voiced concern on Monday over the safety of its workers in Pakistan as Chinese engineers working on a dam project in a tribal region suspended operations after a colleague was killed in a hostage-taking drama last week.
Militants linked to al Qaeda abducted two Chinese engineers working on the Gomal Zam dam project in the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 9.
One of the hostages, Wang Peng, was killed after army commandos launched a rescue operation last week.
China supplies Pakistan with military hardware and hundreds of millions of dollars in finance. Islamabad is concerned that the threat of Islamic militants, many of whom are hiding in tribal areas, could undermine economic ties with a major ally.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said he hoped the killing of Wang would not affect China's relations with its long-time ally, but said Beijing was concerned for the safety of its nationals in Pakistan.
"It is a reality that there is a danger to the life of Chinese engineers in Pakistan," he said, speaking through an Urdu interpreter to a delegation of elders from South Waziristan and other tribal areas.
"Chinese engineers and technicians working here (need to have) security assurances and their machinery and property should also be protected."
A senior official at Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority, which is overseeing the dam project about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of Islamabad, earlier said the "traumatised" Chinese engineers had suspended work on the project.
"At the moment we are not pushing them to resume work," he said. "As soon as they are over the trauma, they will start working."
TRADITIONAL ALLY
An official statement said President Pervez Musharraf told a a Chinese government delegation that security for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan had been "further fortified".
Some 3,000 Chinese are working on about 100 developmental projects in Pakistan, and Musharraf noted that all projects assisted by China were progressing smoothly.
"The President expressed full satisfaction on the excellent cooperation at all levels that exist between Pakistan and China in all fields," the statement said.
Pakistan has also assured China it would hunt a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, Abdullah Meshud, who masterminded the abduction of the two engineers.
"Very soon action will be initiated against him," Mehmood Shah, head of security in tribal regions, said in Islamabad.
Abdullah, who belongs to the Mehsud tribe, one of two major Pashtun clans in South Waziristan, was freed from Guantanamo Bay in March after the Pentagon said he no longer posed a threat to the United States.
But since his release, the one-legged militant has made little effort to keep a low profile, giving interviews to local journalists throughout the kidnap drama.
"We know the general area where he is but he is rapidly shifting his positions right now," Shah said. "He spends a night here and a night there. But he knows that we are now getting him."
Militants with links to the al Qaeda network are incensed by Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war on terror, and have launched attacks on Western concerns since 2001.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL307140.htm
18 Oct 2004 11:52:18 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with comments from Chinese official, Musharraf)
By Zeeshan Haider and Faisal Aziz
ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China voiced concern on Monday over the safety of its workers in Pakistan as Chinese engineers working on a dam project in a tribal region suspended operations after a colleague was killed in a hostage-taking drama last week.
Militants linked to al Qaeda abducted two Chinese engineers working on the Gomal Zam dam project in the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border, on Oct. 9.
One of the hostages, Wang Peng, was killed after army commandos launched a rescue operation last week.
China supplies Pakistan with military hardware and hundreds of millions of dollars in finance. Islamabad is concerned that the threat of Islamic militants, many of whom are hiding in tribal areas, could undermine economic ties with a major ally.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said he hoped the killing of Wang would not affect China's relations with its long-time ally, but said Beijing was concerned for the safety of its nationals in Pakistan.
"It is a reality that there is a danger to the life of Chinese engineers in Pakistan," he said, speaking through an Urdu interpreter to a delegation of elders from South Waziristan and other tribal areas.
"Chinese engineers and technicians working here (need to have) security assurances and their machinery and property should also be protected."
A senior official at Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority, which is overseeing the dam project about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of Islamabad, earlier said the "traumatised" Chinese engineers had suspended work on the project.
"At the moment we are not pushing them to resume work," he said. "As soon as they are over the trauma, they will start working."
TRADITIONAL ALLY
An official statement said President Pervez Musharraf told a a Chinese government delegation that security for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan had been "further fortified".
Some 3,000 Chinese are working on about 100 developmental projects in Pakistan, and Musharraf noted that all projects assisted by China were progressing smoothly.
"The President expressed full satisfaction on the excellent cooperation at all levels that exist between Pakistan and China in all fields," the statement said.
Pakistan has also assured China it would hunt a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, Abdullah Meshud, who masterminded the abduction of the two engineers.
"Very soon action will be initiated against him," Mehmood Shah, head of security in tribal regions, said in Islamabad.
Abdullah, who belongs to the Mehsud tribe, one of two major Pashtun clans in South Waziristan, was freed from Guantanamo Bay in March after the Pentagon said he no longer posed a threat to the United States.
But since his release, the one-legged militant has made little effort to keep a low profile, giving interviews to local journalists throughout the kidnap drama.
"We know the general area where he is but he is rapidly shifting his positions right now," Shah said. "He spends a night here and a night there. But he knows that we are now getting him."
Militants with links to the al Qaeda network are incensed by Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war on terror, and have launched attacks on Western concerns since 2001.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL307140.htm
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