Beijing and Islamabad have started working together more closely to combat incidents of targetting Chinese workers in Pakistan. Some security experts fear more attacks on Chinese nationals and Chinese projects in future.

In the past few weeks there have been three to four major attempts by various terrorist groups targetting Chinese individuals and interests including one in Quetta this April in the parking area of a five-star hotel where Ambassador Nong Rong was staying. The latest was in Gwadar, close to the Eastbay Expressway Project. Construction on this China-aided project started in November 2017. It is recognised as one of the major China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

According to the Interior Ministry, a suicide bomber tried to hit the convoy of four vehicles carrying Chinese engineers. The ministry said “army men in plainclothes” intercepted him and prevented more casualties. Two children, playing nearby died in the explosion and a Chinse national was injured.

This attack comes only a month after nine Chinese citizens were killed when a bus carrying Chinese workers to the Dasu Dam site was attacked. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a presser a month later, had declared it a suicide attack. He has claimed that investigations showed that Indian and Afghan agencies had masterminded this attack with the help of some Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan elements.

The Taliban and the Baloch separatist groups are considered the major sources of terrorist activities against Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Till now, the Baloch separatist groups have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on Chinese citizens and their investments in Pakistan. Pakistani authorities have also alleged that India is supporting these groups to cause disorder and chaos in Pakistan.

The Chinese embassy has urged effective measures to implement strengthened whole-process security and upgrade the security cooperation mechanism to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. The Chinese mission has expressed concern over growing threats to Chinese nationals in Pakistan. “Recently, the security situation in Pakistan has worsened,” the Chinese embassy stated while reminding the Chinese citizens in Pakistan “to be vigilant, strengthen safety precautions, reduce unnecessary outings and take effective security protections.”

China has urged Pakistan to nab the culprits behind the suicide attack at the Eastbay Expressway Project, Gwadar, expose those behind the Dasu terrorist attack, fix the security loopholes and enhance the protection measures to ensure that the Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan are safe.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, who called the incidents a “sabotage” attempt by regional enemies has assured the Chinese ambassador of full cooperation and provision of appropriate security with the help of security forces. “Enemies of the CPEC and Sino-Pak friendship will not be spared,” he has said. In a recent meeting, Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Public Security, Zhao Kezhi, told Moeed W Yusuf, the national security adviser to the prime minister, that the investigation of these attacks would be based on facts and evidence to find the truth of the attacks and hold the culprits accountable. China has expressed willingness to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan and keep close communication and coordination on the situation in Afghanistan to play a constructive role in safeguarding regional and national security and stability.

Recently, Minister Qureshi said that both sides – China and Pakistan – now have a deeper understanding that such incidents should not shatter their resolve. He said “it has been decided to not only expose the identity of the perpetrators but also ensure that they get exemplary punishment; and beef up security on all Chinese projects and revise and improv” the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs)”.

According to recent data, 60,000 visas have been issued to Chinese nationals in the past two years.

The history of attacks against the Chinese in Pakistan goes back to 2004 when a car bomb in Gwadar had killed three Chinese engineers. Experts link the targeting to geopolitics, especially, the situation in neighboring Afghanistan after the American withdrawal. Chinese people and projects, they fear, may be one of the prime targets if terrorism spreads in Pakistan.

Dr Talat Shabbir, the director of China-Pakistan Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad says that the relevant authorities in Pakistan and China are in regular coordination and communication for ensuring security of Chinese citizens and project sites across Pakistan.

“The earlier dedicated CPEC Security Division was only providing security to CPEC projects and installations, and now the Security Division has been mandated to provide security all Chinese companies and personnel. This includes both CPEC and non-CPEC projects. This shows that despite recent attacks (Dasu and Gwadar) high-level communication and coordination is result-oriented and effective,” he says.

He adds that these attacks have taken place in the backdrop of changing regional situation, particularly, in Afghanistan. The regrouping of militant groups such as TTP in Afghanistan has boosted their sleeper cells in Pakistani cities.

“As a result of the increasing security cooperation between Pakistan and China, the possibility will be minimised,” he states.

The author is a staff reporter.  Email: vaqargillani@gmail.com Twitter: @waqargillani