The Pakistan government has decided to create a new commando force for the protection of Chinese engineers and laborers. Its name will be Wapda Security Force. Its work will be to protect the country’s big dams, electricity and water related projects, where Chinese citizens are working. For this, the Government of Pakistan has prepared the Wapda Security Force Act 2026, which will be presented in the Parliament.
This decision was taken after the terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens in Pakistan. There were two major attacks on Dasu Hydropower Project in November 2021 and March 2024. Many Chinese and Pakistani engineers and laborers were killed in these attacks. This project is worth more than 6 billion dollars. The government says that the new force will provide security to the country’s important infrastructure and the people working there.
Why was there a need to create a separate force?
An official said that earlier the projects related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) used to get special security of Pakistan Army. Two special security divisions of the army handled security from Balochistan to Gilgit-Baltistan. But many projects of Wapda were not included in this security system. Therefore there was a need to create a separate force.
After the attack on the Dasu project, China had stopped work there for more than a year. Later the Pakistan government negotiated, gave compensation and then the work started again. However, this increased the cost of the project and also caused a lot of delay. After this, Pakistan also started providing military-like security to other projects related to China. Now the Prime Minister has directed that wherever Chinese citizens are working, security like CPEC should be given.
What will be the structure of Wapda?
The new Wapda Security Force will be headed by a Director General, who will be drawn from the Army. This force will have its own uniform, badge and distinct identity. It will be deployed in different areas of the country. This force will protect the dam, power plant, machines, offices, employees and their homes. Chinese engineers and laborers will also be given security while traveling. For this, work will be done in collaboration with police, rangers and intelligence agencies.
It has also been said in the draft of the law that a case cannot be easily initiated against the force personnel and officers while on duty, if they have taken action under the law. The Pakistan government believes that this new force will increase the confidence of Chinese citizens and strengthen the security of big projects.
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