“The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit will be held in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, from Tuesday to Wednesday (October 15th to 16th). Due to a series of terrorist attacks leading up to the meeting, especially the incident a week ago near Karachi International Airport where two Chinese citizens were killed in an attack targeting a convoy of Chinese companies, the local authorities have implemented an unprecedented tight security lockdown.
This is the first major regional conference hosted by Pakistan in many years. To ensure the safety of the summit, Islamabad is nearly under complete lockdown. The government announced a three-day holiday from October 14th to 16th, schools are closed, businesses are shut down, and a large number of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed.
The Ministry of Interior of Pakistan stated that the Pakistan Army will be responsible for security in the Red Zone of the capital, which is home to the parliament, diplomatic areas, and where most of the meetings will take place.
The SCO summit is the first major regional conference hosted by Pakistan in many years, at a time when the country is experiencing heightened security and political turmoil, prompting authorities to take special measures to enhance security.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Islamabad on Monday (October 14th) to attend the inauguration ceremony of an international airport constructed through Chinese investment in the southwestern part of Pakistan. The airport, located in Gwadar City, is part of the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Gwadar is a coastal city in Balochistan province with the Gwadar Port, a deep-water seaport controlled by China and the endpoint of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The Prime Minister’s Office of Pakistan stated that Li Keqiang’s visit marks the first visit by a Chinese Premier to Pakistan in 11 years.
Just a week ago, a suicide bomber from the “Baloch Liberation Army” attacked a convoy of Chinese enterprises outside Karachi Airport, resulting in the deaths of two Chinese workers and injuring another, along with dozens of Pakistani nationals.
Last Friday (October 11th), Pakistani authorities reported an attack by unidentified gunmen on a small private coal mine in the southwestern part of the country, leaving at least 21 people dead and 7 injured.
On Sunday (October 13th), Islamic militants attacked a police station in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwest Pakistan, killing three officers. These Islamic extremists belong to an umbrella organization consisting of multiple militant groups known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an illegal organization in Pakistan that claimed responsibility for the attack.
These incidents mark a series of violent events in Pakistan leading up to the SCO summit.
Islamabad is attempting to restrict the movements of Chinese citizens in the city over concerns that they could be targeted by violent separatist militants.
Over the past four years, Pakistan has seen a number of attacks targeting Chinese citizens. According to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, there were several deadly attacks in August in Balochistan that resulted in over fifty deaths, aimed at disrupting development projects funded by China.
In March this year, there was another attack in northwest Pakistan where five Chinese workers were killed.
Additionally, Pakistani authorities have been cracking down on dissenters. In recent weeks, hundreds of supporters of the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan have been arrested as the authorities imposed new regulations to limit protests in the capital.
Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), threatened to stage protests during the summit. Just a week ago, supporters of the party blocked the capital for three days.
To suppress these protest actions, the government cut off the phone networks and used large containers to block entry and exit points of the capital.
The continuous attacks and disruptions have inflicted heavy losses on Pakistan.
Last week, Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that due to the recent turmoil, the country’s economy has been losing over $684 million in cumulative losses per day.
Despite the hardships faced by the public, the authorities have announced a three-day production and business shutdown during the conference.
Reports indicate that for security reasons, authorities have ordered the closure of wedding halls, restaurants, hotels, cafes, and markets in Islamabad and the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 2001, consisting of ten member states including China, India, Iran, and Russia. According to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, the Prime Ministers of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as the Deputy President of Iran and the Foreign Minister of India, will attend the summit.
(This article referenced relevant reports from Reuters and the Associated Press)”