Pakistan: Chinese experts being ‘harassed’ in Badin

Chinese experts carrying out a seismic survey to locate hydrocarbon deposits in Badin district to overcome the country’s energy crisis are being harassed, their costly equipment have been damaged and obstacles are being created to stop them from carrying out their work. A Chinese team led by Chinese commercial counsellor Yan Jianming conveyed this information to Sindh chief secretary Raja Mohammad Abbas in a meeting on Thursday. The Chinese team coordinator and country manager of the Chinese state-owned enterprise Sincope (Henan Petroleum Exploration Bureau-Pakistan branch), Wang Jindang, informed the chief secretary that their company had been working on the project on a war footing since April 2012, but now hurdles were being created for them by unscrupulous elements to stop them from carrying out the survey. He said that their costly equipment, including cables and geophones, which were highly sophisticated and costly seismic instrument and not available in Pakistan, were badly damaged in large quantities, resulting in slowdown of the pace of work on the project. The Chinese official further said that some locals were also using extortion and blackmailing tactics by not allowing them to work, although all those people whose land or whose crops had been damaged during the seismic survey were being paid compensation at the highest rate. He said that this alarming situation had caused a colossal material and financial damage to them and sought early intervention of authorities. The chief secretary assured the Chinese team that the authorities concerned were being directed to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security.