ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has assured Chinese Charge d’ Affaires Pang Chunxue of enhanced security measures for protection of the Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

The assurance was held out at a meeting during which the two sides agreed to improve Pakistan-China relations and discussed issues of mutual interests.

They agreed to improve liaison between the interior ministry and the Chinese embassy to improve security of Chinese citizens.

Mr Sanaullah earlier expressed grief over the loss of lives of the Chinese nationals in Karachi University blast and assured her that the culprits would be awarded exemplary punishment. Coordination between the Centre and the federating units was being improved to prevent recurrence of such terror incidents, he added.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif considered China as Pakistan’s most reliable friend. “The coalition government under the leadership of PM Shehbaz Sharif would take Pak-China relations to a new height, and no internal or external conspiracy to harm them will be allowed to succeed,” he added.

He said the government was utilising all available resources to ensure effective security of the Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

Ms Pang lauded government’s efforts for taking extraordinary care of the Chinese citizens and expressed the hope that investigation into the KU blast would lead to arrest of all the culprits. About CPEC, she said it was a symbol of Pak-China friendship.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2022