Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. file | Photo courtesy: Reuters
“Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang “He is likely to inaugurate operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Pakistan’s Balochistan province during his visit to the country in the coming week,” Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told reporters on Sunday (October 13, 2024).
“The start of operations at the $200 million Gwadar International Airport has been pushed back pending a security review following deadly attacks by separatist militants in the region in August,” government and aviation sources said.
“Lee, accompanied by ministers and government officials, will visit Pakistan from October 14 to October 17,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday (October 13, 2024).
Pakistan is hosting the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which consists of nine full members including China, India, Iran and Russia, and it is scheduled to take place on October 15 and 16 in Islamabad.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan, “the new airport will handle domestic and international flights,” and will be one of the largest airports in the country.
“The initial plan was for the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif The airport was scheduled to be inaugurated with Chinese officials on August 14, but it was canceled after an ethnic Baloch rights group started a sit-in,” officials said.
The decades-long insurgency in Balochistan by separatist terrorist groups has led to frequent attacks against the government, military and Chinese interests in the region to press demands for a share in the mineral-rich regional resources.
The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said two Chinese citizens were killed in an explosion near the international airport in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi last week.
separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack and said that Chinese citizens including engineers were targeted in it.
China on Thursday (October 10, 2024) said it will work with Pakistan to protect Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan. Apart from separatists, the region is also home to Islamic militants, who have become active again since 2022 after canceling the ceasefire with the government.
published – October 14, 2024 10:54 am IST