China Postpones CPEC Meeting After Death Of 9 Chinese Engineers In Pakistan Bus Bomb Blast

Major General Asim Bajwa, the head of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and former spokesperson of the Pakistan Army, in a tweet informed that the meeting would be now be held after Eid.

Rescue workers and onlookers gather around a wreck after a bus plunged into a ravine following a bomb explosion, which killed 12 people including 9 Chinese workers, in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 14, 2021.| AFP

Islamabad: Extremely upset over the death of Chinese engineers following a massive blast on a bus in Pakistan, Beijing shocked Islamabad by postponing the important meeting of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that was scheduled to be held on July 16.

Major General Asim Bajwa, the head of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and former spokesperson of the Pakistan Army, in a tweet informed that the meeting would be now be held after Eid.

“JCC-10 meeting on #CPEC which was scheduled to be held on 16th July 21, has been postponed to a later date after Eid. A fresh date will be shared as finalised. Meanwhile, preparations continue,” he tweeted.

He, however, did not disclose the reasons for postponing the meeting during which the future of many projects of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was to be decided. 

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However, the timing of the decision to postpone the JCC meeting can be easily linked to the blast on a bus in the Dasu area of the Upper Kohistan district of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province earlier on Wednesday.

The nine Chinese engineers killed in the blast were engaged in the construction of the Dasu hydropower project in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

This is not the first time that China has raised questions with Pakistan about the security concerns of its citizens working on CPEC projects.

China's Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, had earlier met Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa regarding Beijing’s investments in the CPEC and the security concerns of civilians.

Pakistan had to face China’s displeasure earlier as well, post attacks on Chinese engineers in the area of Sindh, Balochistan.