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Belt and Road Initiative
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Abdul Basit
Abdul Basit

Opinion | Attacks on Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan are likely to continue. Here’s why

  • Baloch separatists view Chinese investment, including the US$62b China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as exploitation of local resources
  • Pakistan’s support for militant proxies has provided terrorists space to survive and mount attacks.

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Pakistani security personnel take position near the compound of the Chinese consulate in Karachi after it was stormed in an attack reportedly claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army. Photo: EPA
Abdul Basit
On November 23, three terrorists from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) – a militant group advocating separatism for the Baloch people, an ethnic group found in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran – attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi.

Despite being armed with suicide vests, hand grenades and AK-47s, the militants failed to enter the consulate building and were neutralised at the entrance.

Though Chinese nationals and projects have been attacked in Pakistan in the past, this is the first high-profile terrorist attack on Chinese state interests in the country. It has raised serious concerns about the safety of the US$62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – the flagship project of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. The CPEC, which originates in China’s Xinjiang province and culminates at the Gawadar port in Balochistan, is exposed to an array of insurgent and terrorist groups in Pakistan.

Presently, around 20,000 Chinese nationals – 10,000 on CPEC and the same number on non-CPEC projects – are working across Pakistan. In the corridor’s second phase, this number will increase further as China is likely to bring more companies and workers to Pakistan. Meanwhile, the number of Chinese nationals visiting Pakistan annually on short-term visas is as high as 70,000.

Despite the success of CPEC, Baloch separatists view Chinese investment in Balochistan as usurpation and exploitation of their resources. These separatists believe the Chinese projects are aimed at colonising Balochistan, and they must be resisted.

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