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During visit, Chinese premier may inaugurate airport built by Beijing in Pakistan

Attaullah Tarar, the Pakistani information minister, told reporters that the Chinese premier Li Qiang may inaugurate the operations of an airport built by China in Pakistan's Balochistan Province during his visit in the next week.

Government and aviation sources confirmed that the start of operations for the $200 million Gwadar International Airport was delayed to allow time for a review of security following the August attacks in the region by militant separatists.

Li will be visiting Pakistan with other ministers and officials from October 14 to 17. Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced this on Sunday.

The meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes nine members including China, India Iran and Russia will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.

According to Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (PAA), the new airport will handle both domestic and international flights and will be one country's largest airports.

Officials said that the initial plan called for Shehbaz to open the airport with Chinese officials on August 14, but this was cancelled after an ethnic Baloch group began a sit-in demonstration.

Separatist militant groups have been waging a decades-long war in Balochistan, resulting in frequent attacks on the Chinese government and army in the area to demand a piece of the mineral-rich resources in the region.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan reported that two Chinese nationals died in an explosion last week near the international airport in the southern Pakistani town of Karachi.

The Baloch Liberation Army, a militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. It said that it targeted Chinese nationals including engineers.

China announced on Thursday that it will work with Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan.

The region is home to a number of Islamist militants who are active since 2022, after the government revoked a ceasefire. (Reporting and writing by Gibran Pishmam in Islamabad, Ariba Sharif in Karachi, Editing by Emelia S. Sithole-Matarise).

(source: Reuters)