 "Pakistan has deployed 15,000 military personnel to protect CPEC")
Pakistan has deployed 15,000 specially-trained military personnel to ensure the safety of foreigners and others working for the $48 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to a senior lawmaker overseeing the ambitious project.
The government has deployed 15,000 military personnel, as part of the Special Security Division (SSD) and Maritime Security Force (MSF), to protect projects under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC, said.
Both forces will work under the Interior Ministry, in coordination with the provinces, to ensure the safety of locals and foreigners working on CPEC projects, Sayed was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.
"The SSD is a force that will provide security to 34 CPEC related projects, while the MSF will safeguard the Gwadar port and other coastal areas of the country," he said.
The SSD had been deployed in six zones from Gwadar to Gilgit-Baltistan, including all four provinces and Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The CPEC is a mega network of roads, rail links, power plants and other infrastructure connecting western China's Xinjiang province to Pakistan's southern port of Gwadar.
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One of the main concerns of China was the delay in the deployment of the Special Security Division for the CPEC.
Regional security could be the biggest issue to the CPEC as it passes through some of the areas facing the biggest security challenges, experts have said.
"Under its terms of reference, the SSD will be responsible for the security of the area within a 5km radius of CPEC-related projects," he said.
In addition, the SSD will also patrol different areas of the corridor, especially where road-building projects are under way.
Both the SSD and MSF were formed in view of possible threats to the $48-billion CPEC and the foreign nationals presently engaged in infrastructure and power generation projects being commissioned under its umbrella.
He said the SSD and MSF were raised over the course of a year and that both forces were equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, equipment and vehicles.
"Most SSD personnel are serving armymen," he added.
China has not only rebuilt the strategic Gwadar port under the CPEC but also has its operational control. China is also building a network of roads and railways to link up its remote western region of Xinjiang to Gwadar for easier access to the Arabian Sea.
The revamped Gwadar port became operational in November last year.