New Delhi: China has allegedly requested $38 million in compensation from Pakistan for the deceased and injured Chinese engineers working on the Dasu Hydropower Project before resuming construction on the delayed project, Pakistani media reported.
Mushtaq Ghumman writing in Pakistani media said that “China wanted to be compensated prior to resuming work on the stalled Dasu Hydropower Project.”
On July 14, 2021, thirteen people were killed, including nine Chinese engineers, two locals, and two Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers, and over two dozen more were injured when a bus transporting the project’s staff plummeted into a ravine after being hit by an explosives-laden car.
According to the media report, the issue of compensation to the Chinese nationals is being discussed at a high level. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Water Resources, and Chinese embassy were working closely on the compensation package, as well as, resumption of work on the project.
The Chinese firm, China Gezhouba Group Corp, which suspended work on the Dasu project after the bus incident, had announced negation of its decision to resume work and terminate Pakistani workers, at the request of the Pakistani government.
However, the company has not yet resumed work and is saying that it will not proceed ahead until a compensation package and more security of Chinese nationals is provided.
(_Vinayak Barot)