Nikkei Asia (June 28) reported that China wants its own security company to guard its citizens
and assets in Pakistan, following recent attacks against its interests, but Islamabad has denied
the request. It said experts believe Beijing is likely to continue pushing for such an arrangement.
The report added, citing two people in the Pakistani government who were privy to the matter,
that earlier this month, the Chinese Ministry of State Security asked Pakistan to allow a Chinese
security company to operate inside Pakistan. Pakistan's Interior Ministry, however, objected
and offered assurances that Pakistan's security forces are able to protect Chinese nationals and
assets in Pakistan, the sources said. A third source, an official from a local private security
consulting company who works with the Chinese, told Nikkei that Beijing has sought to bring
in its own security since 10 Chinese people were killed last year in an attack on a bus in the
northern city of Dasu. This year's attack on Chinese instructors at the Confucius Institute in
Karachi "further pushed the Chinese to ask Pakistan to allow operations of Chinese security
companies," said another official, who also asked not to be named. The Chinese Embassy in
Islamabad did not respond to a request for comment.
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