Beijing, March 27 (CNI MONITERING) China on Wednesday asked Pakistan to “thoroughly investigate” and “identify” those responsible for Tuesday’s suicide attack on Chinese nationals. Attacks on them have increased in the last few days.
At least five Chinese nationals were among six people killed on Tuesday in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed their bus, working on a China-backed hydropower project since 2021. In another suicide attack on officials.
When asked about Beijing’s response to the suicide attack, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a media briefing here that China has asked Pakistan to conduct a full investigation into the incident as soon as possible, find the culprits. and bring them to justice. Citizens of the area from 2021.
Despite repeated terrorist attacks, China continues to support Pakistan, its iron-clad ally, to protect thousands of its citizens working on the US$60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
Lin said, “China strongly supports Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. China and Pakistan have the determination and ability to pay the price to terrorists. “Our two countries are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Our iron friendship is deeply rooted in both peoples.
He said that any attempt to sabotage China-Pakistan cooperation will never succeed.
He declined to comment on reports that Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will visit Beijing in the coming days.
It is customary for Pakistani leaders to visit China after taking office. Earlier reports said that Sharif may seek more Chinese investment to save the cash-strapped Pakistani economy.
Concerns about the safety of thousands of Chinese personnel working on the US$60 billion CPEC are mounting here as it was the third major attack on Chinese projects in Pakistan in a week.
Earlier, militants targeted a naval airbase and the strategic Gwadar port, a key project of the CPEC that links China’s Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday ordered a full joint investigation into the deadly terrorist attack on Chinese nationals.
Chinese analysts say the attacks are being carried out by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as well as Islamic religious extremist groups, which are opposed to China’s investment in Balochistan and the resource-rich province of China and Pakistan acuses of exploitation.
A worrying factor for China is that militants are resorting to suicide bombings, making it difficult for security agencies to stop them.
Chinese experts believe that the latest attack is a replica of the July 2021 Dasu terror attack in which nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis were killed.
Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, called the terrorist attack a “copy” of the 2021 attack. “The project is located in a remote mountainous area in a valley, where religious extremists and terrorist forces are very active. And their method of attack is the same,” Qian told the official Global Times.
Keyan said that the perpetrators of the attack are yet to be identified, and the case will serve as a wake-up call to Pakistan that improving the security situation in Pakistan is still a long and difficult task. For which joint efforts of all parties are required.
Initial reports from Islamabad said China was pressuring Pakistan to allow its agencies to provide protection to Chinese officials, but Pakistan, which has deployed a special force, has Chinese boots is against on the ground.
He said that China would have reservations and reservations on the effectiveness of security, adding that Pakistan was responsible for the security arrangements at the hydropower station.
“Why did [Pakistani security] fail to stop the attack?” Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
Basit predicted that the attack could encourage Chinese companies to hire their own security personnel, one of the main points of contention between the two countries.
“China is pressuring Pakistan to allow private Chinese security companies to come and provide security for Chinese projects in Pakistan,” he said, adding, “Pakistan has of course refused so far because If they do, they reflect badly on Pakistani security institutions. Zhou Yongbiao, a professor at Lanzhou University’s School of Politics and International Relations, said the attack could affect China’s investment in Pakistan, but it would both There will be no major impact on the countries’ economic cooperation.
“Overall, Pakistan’s terrorism situation is rapidly deteriorating. Due to China-Pakistan’s special relationship, large amounts of Chinese investment and personnel will be more easily targeted.”
“Current investment from China may not decrease. However, some additional investment plans may be temporarily suspended,” Zhou said. (CNI MONITERING )
