China Stops Dasu Dam Construction In Pakistan – Free PDF Download

What has happened?

• A Chinese company that is constructing the Dasu dam in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Saturday said,
• It decided to suspend the work after a blast in the northern province that killed several engineers.
• The China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) has intimated through a letter that due to the July 14 bus incident in which nine Chinese nationals were killed, the company cannot continue operations on the project.

About the project

• The Dasu hydropower project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a $65bn (£47bn) investment plan that includes a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the two countries.

What happened on 14^th July?

• The bus was carrying more than 30 people to a hydropower plant site in the remote upper Kohistan region.
• Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that the bus had picked up workers and Chinese engineers from a camp in Barseen and was near the Dasu plant, in the north of the country, when it went off the road.
• At least 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, killed in an explosion that sent a bus hurtling down a mountainside in Pakistan.

• Two soldiers were among the dead and a number of others were injured. Rescuers airlifted the injured to hospital.
• Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry said the bus had fallen into the ravine “after a mechanical failure resulting in leakage of gas that caused a blast.”
• But China says it was a deliberate bombing.

Warning from China

• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Pakistan to punish those responsible and protect the safety of Chinese citizens in the country.
• “China has asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the truth as soon as possible, capture the perpetrators, punish them severely, and effectively protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan,” he said.
• A number of media reports also pointed to an attack, with local officials quoted as saying they were unclear whether a device had been planted by the roadside or on the vehicle itself.

Pakistan, China agree on joint investigation

• Today, an investigating team of Chinese security officials will visit Dasu today as part of a joint probe into the incident to ascertain the facts.
• Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has said that the probe into Dasu incident is in its final stages and will be completed soon.

What about the dam project?

• The CGGC stated that the laid off Pakistani employees will be paid salary and gratuity as per their contract.
• Project Director Anwarul Haq has confirmed that the Chinese firm has stopped work on the project, adding that it will restart work as soon as the security situation improves.

Mistrust among Pakistanis

• China’s huge investment projects are mistrusted by some in Pakistan who say locals don’t see the benefits.
• Chinese-funded projects have been attacked, most recently in April when the Pakistani Taliban claimed a suicide bombing at a luxury hotel in south-west Balochistan province.
• China’s ambassador was in the hotel but unhurt.

Q) Which among the following is correct regarding Indus River?

1. 1.It is known as Singi Khamban or the Lion’s mouth in Tibet.
2. 2.It originates from a glacier near Bokhar Chu in the Kailash Mountain range.

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) Both 1 & 2

D) None of the above

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