Karachi - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that given the significance of the projects launched under the CPEC, the Sindh government is providing security to these projects and those working on them.

He was presiding over a meeting held here on Monday to review the security of CPEC projects launched in Sindh.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Major General Abid Rafiq, head of Special Security Division (SSD), especially established for providing security to CPEC related projects and the crew working on them, IG AD Khawaja, Secretary Home Shahid Pervez Qazi, Lt Col Nisar Ahmed, Lt Col Fawad and others.

The chief minister said that presently 13 CPEC related projects had either been started or being taken up. "All these projects are of national importance; therefore the Sindh government has created a separate force for their security," he said, and added that's why he kept holding review meetings off and on.

The IG police said that out of 2000 personnel of CPEC security force, he had appointed 1023 ex-army men to provide security to the projects and the Chinese working on them.

SSD Head Major Gen Abid Rafiq told the meeting that the Chinese were working at 424 different projects, CPEC and non-CPEC both, and their security was more necessary. The chief minister said that the Chinese working in Sindh were being provided security cover. “Police issues them security advisories through private companies and also through diplomatic missions,” he elaborated.

It was also pointed out that Chinese were working in 72 different companies, and that owners of these companies had also been taken into confidence on their security.

IG police AD Khawaja said that on the new instructions of the CM, he had recruited 16000 policemen purely on merit 10,000 of whom had been provided special training by Pakistan Army.

Murad said that at some CPEC project sites, residential colonies and villages were being affected, but the affected people would be given compensation.

“In Thar, we have not only given compensation but a model village is being built to provide affected people homes, health and educational facilities," he said. Talking about the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), the chief minister said that human settlements stood in its route as an obstacle.

He said that his government would give compensation to the people to be displaced for completing the KCR.

He also decided to establish close coordination between SSD and Sindh Police for proper security arrangements.