Beijing wants foolproof security for its 1,200 workers building critical infrastructure and teaching in Pakistan. In the face of persistent attacks, Beijing has asked Islamabad to allow it to deploy its own security personnel, but Pakistan has yet to agree. I have been told that Islamabad came close to accepting Beijing's demand around 2016 during Nawaz Sharif's third term as prime minister, but the Pakistan Army blocked the plan. Raheel Sharif, then the military chief, instead created new army and naval units with around 12,000 personnel with the ostensible mission of protecting China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.