ISLAMABAD — The Sunday attack on Chinese personnel near a Karachi airport has raised questions about Islamabad’s security lapses in protecting Chinese nationals, putting Pakistan under pressure as it hosts the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this month.
According to airport sources, 40 Chinese nationals arrived in Karachi on a flight on Sunday night. This group included personnel of Port Qasim Electric Power Co, who were targeted in the attack. The company operates two 660 megawatt coal power plants in the city, which are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the $50 billion Pakistan component of the Belt and Road.
The security measures for all Chinese nationals were beefed up after an attack on Chinese engineers in the north of Pakistan this March.
“Attacks on Chinese nationals take place frequently in sensitive locations,” Kiyya Baloch, an independent security analyst, told Nikkei Asia. “Security agencies need to seriously consider why this keeps on happening,” he added.
This security failure marks trouble for the Pakistan government which is hosting the summit of SCO’s Council of Heads of Government on Oct. 15-16. SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization comprising 10 members including China and Russia.
“Islamabad must now be bracing for diplomatic pressure and economic consequences. Such a high-profile attack only a week before the SCO summit risk undermining the country’s image on an international stage,” Khuram Iqbal, an Islamabad-based counterterrorism expert and author of “The Making of Pakistani Human Bombs,” told Nikkei.
This attack once again highlights the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group that has turned out to be the prime instigator of attacks on Chinese interests in Pakistan since the inception of CPEC.
BLA claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack and said that a high-level delegation of Chinese engineers and investors was targeted in the attack.
BLA seeks independence for the southwestern province of Balochistan. This group has launched deadly attacks targeting the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018, the Chinese-owned Pakistan Stock Market in 2020, and a suicide attack on Chinese teachers at the University of Karachi in 2022.
Pakistan alleges that India and other countries hostile to Pakistan fund BLA. India denies this allegation.
Experts say that BLA’s operations continue to be more sophisticated with each passing day.
“The success of BLA indicates that Islamabad’s disproportionate reliance on kinetic counter-terrorism is failing,” said Iqbal, the counterterrorism expert. “Suppression of legitimate avenues of dissent is clearly leading to growing recruitment for terrorist organizations,” he added.
Baloch, the security analyst, agrees.
“Despite heightened security measures, the BLA’s ongoing targeting of Chinese nationals highlights both their persistence and capability to exploit vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s security apparatus,” he said.
Baloch added that BLA has transitioned from a rural insurgent group to a more coordinated urban insurgent group. “This transition is a very alarming escalation by BLA to challenge the state and even target its most sensitive locations,” he added.
Experts say that Beijing is visibly upset with the continuous attack on its nationals in Pakistan.
“China will of course renew its call to deploy its security personnel in Pakistan,” said Baloch. “This would, I think, signal Beijing’s diminishing trust in Pakistan’s ability to safeguard its citizens and infrastructure projects,” he added.
Iqbal fears it will be difficult for Pakistan to agree to this demand of Beijing.
“Islamabad is unlikely to permit the deployment of Chinese Security personnel as it raises concerns about sovereignty, control and societal backlash,” Iqbal said.
A Pakistani security official, talking to Nikkei on condition of anonymity, defended the security arrangements to protect the Chinese.
“We have thwarted countless terrorist attacks and if one goes through it is blown out of proportion, as security lapse,” the official said. “Pakistani security forces will go after anti-China militants with a new resolve and we will hunt them down,” the official added.
source : asia.nikkei