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Pakistan's Federal Cabinet approved a package for families of Chinese nationals who died in a suicide attack at the Dasu dam project, ARY News reported on Saturday citing sources.
Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide bombing on March 26 while traveling between Islamabad and a hydroelectric dam construction site in Dasu, in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The bus was attacked in the Bisham city of KP's Shangla district, Dawn reported. Pakistan will pay USD 2.58 million in compensation to the families of five Chinese engineers who were killed in the terror attack on the vehicle carrying them. Each family of Chinese deceased workers will receive USD 5,16,000 in compensation. The cabinet approved the package in a circulation summary, according to sources. Pakistan's embassy in Beijing will pay relief amounts to the families of deceased Chinese workers, ARY News reported. The government will also pay a compensation of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 2.5 million (USD 8,950) to the family of the Pakistani driver who also died in the attack. The March attack in Bisham, The attack in Bisham was one of several assaults occurring within a short timeframe, all aimed at Chinese interests. According to Dawn, previous incidents at the Gwadar Port Authority Complex and the Turbat naval base, crucial to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), were part of this series. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a USD 50 billion Pakistani component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project is under construction in Pakistan and aims to connect Pakistan's Gwadar and Karachi ports to China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by land. These consecutive attacks underscored the mounting security concerns about Chinese projects and personnel in Pakistan. The Bisham attack prompted China to demand a thorough probe into the deadly blast and security for its citizens. In response, Islamabad announced a probe to hold the "perpetrators and accomplices" accountable. Earlier in April, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accompanied by the Chinese envoy Jiang Zaidong paid a visit to Dasu to meet Chinese engineers working on the Dasu Dam project, Radio Pakistan reported. Sharif gave directions for immediate measures to enhance the security of the workers amid security concerns. (ANI)
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