Security Jitters as Pakistan Hosts SCO Meeting

Workers next to a billboard featuring images of China's Premier Li Qiang (C), Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari (R) inside a locked-down security zone in Islamabad. Image: Aamir Qureshi / AFP.

Pakistan is hosting a two-day heads of government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) starting today amid heightened security concerns following last week’s suicide bombing attack against Chinese workers.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Islamabad yesterday and was met at the airport by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The two later virtually inaugurated an airport in Gwadar, which was funded by China. It is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a large Belt and Road Initiative project in the region that has been targeted by separatist Baloch militants.

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by Cobus van Staden

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