In a major development, Chinese engineers suspended work on hydropower projects in Swat and Shangla districts in July 2022 owing to the deteriorating condition of law and order in the country.
According to the details, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Energy and Power Secretary Nisar Ahmad Khan. The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Energy Tashfeen Haider, Chief Executive Officer Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) Naeem Khan, Deputy Commissioner Swat Junaid Khan, District Police Officer Shangla Aqeeq Hussain, Deputy superintendent of police (SDPO) Swat Akbar Hayat, Chief Planning Officer Ayaz Khan, and other senior officers.
During the meeting, it was revealed that a team of Chinese engineers working on the 84 megawatts Mitiltan hydropower project in Swat suspended the work and moved to Islamabad in July 2022 due to the security situation. The team of Chinese experts had also stopped work on the 11.8 megawatts Karora hydropower project in Shangla district since May 2022.
Read more: Islamabad police in action: Special security plan revealed amid terror threat
This is an alarming situation as the suspended operations could cause a delay in the completion of the project, thus incurring heavy financial losses to the province. As a result, the meeting discussed various options to improve the security arrangements, which include bullet-proof vehicles for foreign engineers.
Terror in KP
The law and order situation has taken an ugly turn for the last several weeks with an increase in attacks on police and threats to high-profile individuals and politicians in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police have been alerted across the province after accelerated attacks on the force in different districts during the last few weeks. The force has come under attack in Peshawar, southern districts, and the Mardan region.
KP, Balochistan witnessed alarming rise in terror attacks during 2022: Report pic.twitter.com/LYV46sNhkH
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In the recent wave of violence, politicians affiliated with other political parties have either come under attack or received threats. Grenades were lobbed into the houses and hujras of several well-off individuals in Peshawar and the rest of the KP.
Read more: KP police reveals Swat school van attack was not an act of terror