Federal cabinet approves $2.58m for Chinese workers killed in Dasu attack

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved the Economic Coordination Committee's (ECC) decision regarding the disbursement of $2.58 million as part of the compensation package for the families of the Chinese nationals killed in the Dasu suicide attack in March, The News reported on Sunday.

The executive body has also okayed compensation of Rs2.5 million for the Pakistani driver killed in the terrorist attack.

The cabinet's approval comes after the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) recommended the compensation amount to the ECC based on the GDP per capita and purchasing power parity.

The Ministry of Water Resources had moved a summary to the ECC for approval of a compensation grant which was approved by the latter in its meeting on Thursday.

The Rs717 million compensation package for the Chinese nationals will see each family getting $516,000 or Rs143.4 million.

The supplementary grant would be arranged by the Finance Ministry itself as the Ministry of Water Resources did not have such funds in the budget.

The amount would be transferred to the account of the Pakistani embassy in Beijing for onward payments to the families of the deceased Chinese nationals through appropriate channels.

The IMC's recommendations came almost two months after a terror attack in Shangla claimed the lives of at least six people — five Chinese engineers and one Pakistani working on the Dasu Dam who were travelling on the Karakoram Highway when their bus was targetted by an explosive-laden vehicle in the Bisham area.

The slain Chinese workers belonged to Gezhouba — a contractor company working on the Dasu Hydropower project.

It is to be noted that civil work at the sites of the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams was temporarily suspended by the Chinese companies overseeing operations due to security concerns.

Approximately 991 Chinese engineers were working on both projects, while the local staff was told to stay at home till further instructions.