ISLAMABAD: A Chinese company working on a motorway project near Khanewal has suspended five of its workers for violating company discipline as they had a brawl with police personnel deputed for staff security.

“Sending back of the five involved personnel is the decision from our company because they should have obeyed the rules of our company,” said Pan Jianguo, general manager of International Construction Engineering Company from the Xinjiang Beixin Road & Bridge Group Co. Ltd (XBRB Group), in a statement shared with Dawn by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad.

The company regretted the incident that happened on April 4 at M-4 motorway project’s Khanewal camp.

“The XBRB Group has come here to improve Pakistan’s infrastructure, to facilitate transportation and to benefit the local people. China-Pakistan relations are rock solid and our brotherly friendship cannot be affected because of some inappropriate behaviour of individual person. Therefore, our company feels sorry to the Pakistani side for the unfortunate incident from the bottom of our hearts,” the company stated.

The management, it said, had taken the matter seriously and sent an investigation team to Pakistan, which after ascertaining the facts “decided to suspend and shift the involved five personnel from the site immediately”.

The construction company hoped that both sides would overcome the misunderstanding, strengthen friendly cooperation and jointly promote the project construction to ensure its successful completion.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2018