Cabinet approves FC’s deployment in AJK for security of Chinese

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has given its nod for the deployment of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to ensure security for Chinese nationals and critical power installations.

Sources within the government said that the approval was granted following the submission of a circular summary regarding the FC’s deployment in AJK.

The decision comes in response to a request from the Azad Kashmir government, which cited the need for enhanced security measures to maintain peace and stability in the region.

Under the approved plan, six platoons of the FC will be initially deployed across Azad Jammu and Kashmir for a period of three months.

The FC personnel will be tasked with providing foolproof security to Chinese nationals engaged in projects at the Neelum Jhelum Power House, Mangla Power House, and Ghazi Barotha Power House.

The primary objective of the FC’s deployment is to bolster security, particularly for Chinese citizens and vital infrastructure projects within the region.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals and projects within Pakistan.

He made the remarks while addressing engineers from a Chinese company involved in a dam construction project in Upper Kohistan’s Dasu area.

The announcement had come in the wake of a tragic incident on March 26, where five Chinese engineers, along with their Pakistani driver, lost their lives in a suicide bombing while traveling from Islamabad to a hydroelectric dam construction site in Dasu, located in the northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The targeted bus was passing through Besham, situated in KP’s Shangla district.