Pakistani committee finds bus carrying Chinese nationals was not bulletproof

Sources told Dawn News that a three-member committee, comprising two senior officials from the federal and one from the KP government, had been directed to assess if the movement of the Chinese nationals on March 26 was in accordance with the SOPs.

At least six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the bus in  Bisham last month.

During the course of the probe, the investigators found that the bus transporting the foreign nationals was not even bulletproof, let alone bombproof, which is a requirement under the security SOPs, Dawn News reported.

Sources told the Pakistani newspaper that the committee pointed out multiple flaws in the provision of security to Chinese nationals. Sources said the committee was shocked to learn that “the vehicle carrying the Chinese nationals should have been bombproof but the vehicle was not even bulletproof”.

They further said the company “that was required to provide bullet- and bombproof vehicles to transport Chinese workers, and duly paid for, failed to meet its contractual obligations”.

“Vehicles carrying the Chinese nationals should be bombproof, according to the SOPs but two forensic audits show they were not even bulletproof,” the sources said, adding that the committee also informed the federal government that it was difficult to pinpoint inefficiencies because there was no unity of command in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) task force.

Sources privy to the report filed by the committee said the district police officer in Upper Kohistan was supposed to be informed about the convoy movement seven days in advance but not only was the DPO informed late, but the police officer “totally forgot to convey the message about the Chinese nationals’ movement to anyone further”.

They said that the committee also held the security director of the Dasu dam as well as the director general of the Special Security Unit negligent.