Pakistan, China in talks about security for Chinese nationals

By Binbin Huang and Liz Lee

BOAO, China (Reuters) -Pakistan and China's discussions about security measures to protect Chinese nationals working in the South Asian country are a work in progress, Islamabad's ambassador to Beijing said on Wednesday.

Chinese nationals have been in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests.

It is Pakistan's "national responsibility" and the country is "doing everything possible", Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told reporters at the sidelines of the Boao Forum in China's Hainan province.

"I think our two countries work very closely in terms of information sharing, in terms of developing the standard operating procedures" to ensure Chinese nationals working in Pakistan are safe, he said.

"We keep our Chinese friends informed of the steps that we are taking, so it's a work in progress."

Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens.

The push came after a bombing at the Karachi airport last October killed two Chinese engineers who were returning there to work at a power plant.

Hashmi said those talks are ongoing, with a high degree of trust between both countries.

"It's a complex security environment," he said, "We have the capability to resolve, to counter and combat and defeat these terrorist forces."

(Reporting by Binbin Huang and Liz Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Saad Sayeed)