China Temporarily Shuts Down Consular Office in Pakistan Due to Technical Reasons
The Chinese embassy announced this on its website, abstaining from giving specific information about the kind of technical issue or the timeline for the closure. Before also China had suggested its citizens be careful while in Pakistan.
China has shut down the consular section of its embassy in Pakistan because of technical reasons, some days after suggesting the citizens of china in the country be more careful due to the declining situation concerning security.
The embassy declared this on its website, abstaining from giving any specified information about the nature of the issue or the specified time of the closure.
The notice announced that due to some fault in the technical area, the consular section in Islamabad will be closed temporarily from February 13, 2023, until further notice.
The notice came just after the notice by the Chinese government, suggesting that Chinese citizens be cautious while in Pakistan. The reason sighted was the worsening situation of security in the country and they might be at risk due to that.
There has been a rise in terror attacks in Pakistan since late last year when a delicate ceasefire was called off with the government by the Pakistani Taliban group.
Chinese nationals working on the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have been attacked by many terrorist groups in Pakistan frequently. The aim is to pressurize a big chunk of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
The CPEC is a grid of roads, railways, pipelines, and ports in Pakistan connecting China to the Arabian Sea. it is a USD 65 billion network.
The Belt and Road Initiative is supposed to aid Pakistan in expanding and modernizing its economy.
In an incident, three Chinese teachers were killed by a suicide bomber last April in Karachi with their local driver. So the nationals from Pakistan’s most important partner were attacked which undermines the relationship on which Islamabad largely depends for its financial survival.
