Pakistan has “sent back” five Chinese engineers who allegedly attacked a police team in Khanewal, The Express Tribune reported on Tuesday. On April 7, the Khanewal district administration had written a letter to the Punjab administration and recommended that they be deported after they clashed with the special protection unit of the police.

The Khanewal administration had declared country project manager Xu Ling, administration officer Tian Weijun, material and equipment manager Liu Hui, financial affairs officer Wang Yifan and field engineer Tan Yang “persona non grata”.

The Chinese team had allegedly refused to take a security squad assigned to them while leaving the construction camp they were working at and clashed with the Pakistani officials who insisted that they do so. “They [Chinese workers] must have realised the sensitivity of their security and should not have taken the law in their hands,” the letter said.

The Chinese engineers also cut power supply to the police camp within the premises and stopped working on the project the next day, Dawn reported.