PESHAWAR, July 28: A Chinese company working on a hydropower project in the Malakand region has urged provincial authorities to provide adequate security to its staff otherwise it would be forced to withdraw its workers, Dawn has learnt.

A letter addressed to the NWFP’s home department and the management of the Malakand-III hydropower project sought deployment of troops at the site in Dargai adjacent to the volatile Swat district in the aftermath of growing lawlessness in the region and target killing of Chinese nationals in Peshawar.

“The government should deploy regular army troops around and inside the project area immediately, otherwise all our working staff will be withdrawn from the site without further notice,” the letter warned.

Sources said the spate of suicide attacks and roadside explosions in various parts of the province and tribal areas had prompted the Chinese government to express concern over the future of its citizens in Pakistan.

The Chinese embassy in Islamabad had warned the management of the firm working on the hydropower project that extremists were planning to target its nationals and vehicles carrying their personnel in the area.

The NWFP government had awarded the contract for the hydropower project in Dargai to the China Electric and Water Corporation in 2003. The Rs2.2 billion project has an 81MW electricity generating capacity.

The letter claimed that the security situation had deteriorated after the government conducted a military operation in Lal Masjid in Islamabad as Chinese nationals had already become the victim in the crises.

It was also pointed out that three Chinese nationals had been killed in Peshawar on July 20 and they would become the most likely targets if the situation went beyond its control in the region.

Secretary Home Department Badshah Gul Wazir told Dawn that in the wake of a request by the Chinese firm, security around the site had been beefed up. He said the additional force of Levies and paramilitary had been deployed in the area.

The official said Chinese nationals had been working in different areas of the NWFP apart from the Malakand project and their security had been enhanced wherever they were performing duties.