Following a tragic suicide bombing that killed five Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a Chinese company halted its civil construction operation, laying off hundreds of employees at a hydropower project in Pakistan. The event occurred at the Dasu hydropower plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where an explosives-laden vehicle struck a bus carrying personnel, killing six people. This was the second suicide attack on those involved in a China-backed project in the region since 2021.
According to the reports, the Power Construction Corporation of China (PCCC), which oversees the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project in the same province, has decided to suspend operations and lay off over 2,000 workers due to security concerns raised by the recent attack.
Despite the work suspension, the general secretary of the Awami Labour Union at the project guaranteed that any delays in the project’s completion timeframe would be negligible. The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will offer financial support for the Tarbela expansion project (T5), which is expected to be completed by May 2026. Workers affected by layoffs are entitled to half of their pay until they are called back to resume their jobs, according to labour legislation.
The Dasu hydroelectric project, where the tragic attack occurred, is located around 300 kilometres north of Islamabad and is being developed by China Gezhouba with World Bank support. Chinese nationals working on this project have been attacked before, with a similar attack in July 2021 resulting in casualties among both Chinese and Pakistani workers.
Meanwhile, China strongly denounced the suicide bomb attack and urged an investigation into the incident. “China asks Pakistan to investigate the incident as soon as possible thoroughly, hunt down the perpetrators, and bring them to justice,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday (27th March).
“China firmly supports Pakistan in fighting terrorism. China and Pakistan have the resolve and capability to make the terrorists pay the price. Our two countries are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Our iron-clad friendship is deeply rooted in the two peoples. No attempt to sabotage China-Pakistan cooperation will ever succeed,” he added.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is said to have ordered a comprehensive joint inquiry to identify the criminals and safeguard the safety of Chinese staff working on various national projects. The presence of Chinese labourers in Pakistan is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar plan to improve connectivity and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Concerns over the safety of hundreds of Chinese staff working on the USD 60 billion CPEC are growing, as this is the third significant attack on Chinese projects in Pakistan in a week.
Previously, assailants struck a naval airbase and the important Gwadar port, a key CPEC project connecting China’s Xinjiang.
According to Chinese analysts, Islamic religious extremist groups, as well as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), are carrying out attacks in the region. The BLA is opposed to China’s involvement in Balochistan and accuses China and Pakistan of exploiting its resources.
