ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s capital was under strict security lockdown starting Monday ahead of the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang for a four-day bilateral visit and a heads-of-government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) this week.
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.
Pakistan army troops will be responsible for the security of the capital’s Red Zone, which will house most of the meetings and is also home to parliament and a diplomatic enclave, according to interior ministry.
The threat alert has been high in the South Asian nation ahead of the SCO summit meeting, especially after the killing of two Chinese engineers and shooting to death of 21 miners.
Tensions have mounted after jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a protest on Oct. 15 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 of violence from separatist militants.
The SCO’s 23rd meeting, which comprises nine full members including China, India, Iran and Russia, is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Li is undertaking a bilateral visit to Pakistan from Monday to Thursday, accompanied by senior officials, Pakistan’s foreign office said.
Li and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will lead their respective delegations to discuss economic and trade ties and cooperation under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in the South Asian country under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Li is also likely to inaugurate the CPEC funded Gwadar International Airport in restive southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
The SCO participants will 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.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad and Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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