In Pakistan, target killings of Chinese nationals carry geopolitical implications

In yet another occurrence of the targeted killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, questions are raised about grave security lapses. The latest incident happened last month when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle on a convoy in a remote district of Kohistan in the northwestern province where a key hydroelectric dam is being constructed. Five Chinese workers were killed. 

This was the third major attack in little over a week on China's interests in different parts of the country and compounded Pakistan’s national security challenges. The growing incidents of the targeted killings of Chinese nationals also carries serious geopolitical implications. Thousands of Chinese workers are engaged in multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects in the country under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative.  

Pakistani officials assert that the attacks were part of an attempt to disrupt its “all-weather” friendship with China. The two countries have long been tied in close strategic alliance and their relationship has further strengthened over the years with China having invested more than $65 billion in various development projects. The increasing incidents of attacks on Chinese nationals working on those projects is alarming and seem to be part of a plan to force Beijing to pull out. 

While expressing its concern over the safety of its nationals and calling on the Pakistan government to strengthen security measures, Beijing said such militant attacks would not affect work on the projects. The Chinese government has also demanded a thorough probe into the deadly blast. There are, however, questions about Pakistan’s failure to counter escalating terror threats.  

What’s more worrisome is the marked increase in terror attacks against Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

Zahid Hussain

Last month’s suicide bombing was the second such attack in the Kohistan region. Nine Chinese engineers working on the power project were killed in suicide bombings in 2021, forcing the Chinese company to suspend work for several months. The company returned after assurances by the Pakistan government to beef up security. But the latest attack in the same area around the Karakoram Highway that links Pakistan with China, has raised fresh concerns about the security of the Chinese staff.  

Pakistani officials said there was strong evidence that both attacks were carried out by militants affiliated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group has intensified its operations over the last few years in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP). The Kohistan region has long been the center of militant activities, but there has been a marked surge in TTP activities after the return of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Kabul regime of sheltering militants involved in cross-border terror attacks. According to some reports, the mastermind of the 2021 attacks was killed in a drone strike in the Afghan province of Kunar, which has become the main sanctuary of the TTP fighters. 

What is, however, more worrisome is the marked increase in terror attacks against Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects in the southwestern province of Balochistan. These attacks have been carried out by Baloch separatist groups waging war against the Pakistani state.  

The targeting of Chinese nationals by militant groups with completely diverse agendas and operating in different parts of the country is quite intriguing. The Kohistan bombing followed a series of high-profile terror attacks against Chinese installations in Balochistan. On March 20, gunmen raided Gwadar port which was being developed and used by China. The port being built with billions of dollars is a centerpiece of CPEC. Several militants and Pakistani soldiers were killed in the gun battle which lasted for several hours. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of the separatist groups operating in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack. 

A few days later on March 25, the group raided a Pakistani naval base in Turbat town close to Gwadar port, killing at least one paramilitary soldier. There has been an uptick in the low intensity insurgency in the troubled province. The separatist groups now seem more organized and better armed. They have declared CPEC projects a part of the plan to turn the local Baloch population into a minority. 

In an alarming development, the BLA has extended its militant activities against Chinese nationals to Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city and main financial hub. Two years back, a woman suicide bomber blew herself up at a Karachi university, killing three Chinese members of the teaching staff. 

Pakistan has blamed “foreign elements” for the latest series of terror attacks. In a statement, a military spokesman said the attacks on the country’s strategic installations and targeting Chinese nationals is a part of the plan to “sow discord between Pakistan and its strategic ally.” There is certainly some truth to the allegations of involvement of foreign elements in the latest terror attacks. But most importantly, Pakistan also needs to review its counter-terrorism strategy and put its own house in order. 

– Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a former scholar at Woodrow Wilson Centre and a visiting fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, and at the Stimson Center in DC. He is author of Frontline Pakistan: The struggle with Militant Islam and The Scorpion’s tail: The relentless rise of Islamic militants in Pakistan. Frontline Pakistan was the book of the year (2007) by the WSJ. His latest book ‘No-Win War’ was published this year. Twitter: @hidhussain