A Chinese national was wounded while his Pakistan driver and another Chinese national remained unhurt in a firing incident in Karachi on Wednesday.
This was the fourth attack on the Chinese nationals in the city during the last seven months.
The latest attack comes as the two countries were still struggling to overcome the concerns about security and safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan in the wake of a dastardly terrorist attack on a bus carrying Chinese engineers to the site of the Dasu hydropower project.
Initial investigations into the Dasu tragedy and statement of the defunct Baloch Liberation Front claiming responsibility for the Karachi incident hint at involvement of some hostile intelligence agency that is using Afghan-based terrorist outfits to destabilize Pakistan and create misunderstanding between Pakistan and China.
The two countries are, therefore, rightly expecting the Taliban to ensure that these outfits are not able to operate against them from areas under their (Taliban) control.
However, the issue of security for Chinese nationals becomes critical in the evolving situation and, therefore, a comprehensive review of the situation and upgradation of the security arrangement has become the need of the time.
Apart from the projects relating to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Chinese manpower is also working on a number of other projects and programmes in various parts of the country.
Those who came under attack in Karachi are also reported to have arrived a few days back in connection with maintenance of a factory in the SITE area.
It is intriguing that their arrival was not in the knowledge of the local authorities but the anti-Pakistan forces have complete information on their stay and movement, which should be a source of concern for our agencies.
A conspiracy seems to be in play to damage Sino-Pak friendship and with this in view our intelligence and law enforcing agencies must become proactive to foil their designs.
