Reuters, ISLAMABAD
Pakistan’s capital was under strict security lockdown as Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) landed in the city yesterday, ahead of a heads-of-government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this week.
Li’s visit is the first by a Chinese premier to Pakistan in 11 years, the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office said. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received Li at the airport.
The government has announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad, with schools and businesses shut and large contingents of police and paramilitary forces deployed.
A handout photograph taken and released by the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office yesterday shows China`s Premier Li Qiang, left, speaking with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival at the Chaklala military air base in Islamabad.
Photo: AFP / Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office
Pakistani army troops are responsible for the security of the capital’s Red Zone, the location of the parliament and a diplomatic enclave and where most of the meetings are to take place, the Pakistani Ministry of the Interior said.
The threat alert has been high in the South Asian nation ahead of the SCO summit, especially after the killing of two Chinese engineers and shooting to death of 21 miners.
Tensions have mounted after jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan called for a protest today to press for his release and agitate against the coalition government, following violent clashes between his party loyalists and security forces.
Islamabad has sought to curb all movement of Chinese nationals in the city, citing fears they could be targets for violence from separatist militants.
The 23rd meeting of the SCO, which comprises nine full members, including China, India, Iran and Russia, is scheduled for today and tomorrow in Islamabad.
As well as attending the summit, Li is also undertaking a four-day bilateral visit to Pakistan from yesterday to Thursday, accompanied by senior officials, Pakistan’s foreign office said.
Li and Sharif are to lead their respective delegations to discuss economic and trade ties and cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a US$65 billion investment in the South Asian country under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Li is also to inaugurate the CPEC-funded Gwadar International Airport in Balochistan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The SCO participants are to be represented by the prime ministers of China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as the first vice president of Iran and external affairs minister of India, the foreign office said.
