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China has asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the suicide attack on its citizens on Tuesday. China said that the people behind the attack should be immediately traced and the culprits should be given strict punishment. There is speculation that Beijing may pressure Islamabad to deploy its security agencies to protect the CPEC project. Attacks on Chinese citizens have been increasing continuously in the last few days.
Six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed when an explosives-laden vehicle hit their bus in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday. This is the second suicide attack on workers working on a China-backed hydropower project since 2021.
Statement of China's Foreign Ministry
Asked about the suicide attack during a media briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, “China calls on Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the incident as soon as possible, trace the perpetrators and bring them to justice.” ” Despite frequent terrorist attacks, China has continued with the US$60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Lin said, 'China strongly supports Pakistan in fighting terrorism. China and Pakistan have the determination and capacity to make terrorists pay the price. Both our countries are evergreen strategic cooperative partners. Our strong friendship between the two countries has deep roots. Any attempt to spoil China-Pakistan relations will never succeed. He declined to comment on reports that Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would visit Beijing in the coming days.
There are continuous attacks targeting Chinese citizens
It has been a tradition in Pakistan that after assuming power, he definitely visits China. Earlier it was said that Sharif may seek more Chinese investment to revive Pakistan's cash-strapped economy. Now concerns are rising over the safety of thousands of Chinese workers working on CPEC in Pakistan as this was the third major attack on Chinese projects in Pakistan in a week. Earlier, terrorists had targeted the naval airbase and the strategic Gwadar port, which is a key CPEC project connecting China's Xinjiang.
Meanwhile, in Islamabad Prime Minister Sharif on Wednesday ordered a full joint investigation into the deadly terrorist attack on Chinese civilians. Chinese analysts say the attacks are being carried out by Islamic religious extremist groups in addition to the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which opposes Chinese investment in Balochistan and accuse China and Pakistan of exploiting the resource-rich province . A matter of concern for China is that terrorists are resorting to suicide bomb attacks which is making it difficult for security agencies to stop them. Chinese experts believe the latest attack was on the lines of the July 2021 Dasu terror attack in which nine Chinese citizens and four Pakistani citizens were killed.
Will Chinese security personnel be deployed?
Is Pakistani security incapable of stopping the attacks? In response to this question, Abdul Basit, Associate Research Fellow of a University of Singapore has given the answer. 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.
He said, 'China is pressurizing Pakistan to allow private Chinese security companies to come and protect Chinese projects in Pakistan. This has had a negative impact on the image of Pakistani security institutions.