Since 2021, twenty Chinese civilians have been murdered and 34 injured in terrorist incidents around the country, according to the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), which notified parliament on Tuesday.
The October airport blast, which killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand, was the latest in a series of high-profile attacks on Beijing’s interests in Pakistan.
The attack was claimed by the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Three days after the incident, police filed a first information report against the BLA’s leaders and others.
The attacks have enraged China, prompting the federal government to launch formal negotiations for a combined security management system. Pakistan’s ongoing counter-terrorism measures remain a hot topic between the two countries, owing to the increasing frequency of attacks against Chinese people working in Pakistan.
During today’s meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Nacta Director Colonel Usman informed the participants that there have been 14 terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens in the country since 2021, with “20 [Chinese personnel] killed and 34 injured”.
The committee members were informed that eight of the attacks occurred in Sindh, four in Balochistan, and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He stated that eight Pakistanis were also killed and 25 injured in these strikes.
The Nacta director informed the committee that “a total of 20,000 Chinese nationals are settled in Pakistan,” including people for projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He went on to say that their protection was the government’s first priority.
He said that the BLA and other terrorist groups, including anti-state groupings, were behind the attacks, which mostly targeted non-CPEC projects and Chinese citizens traveling to various parts of the country.
“There has been no direct terrorist attack on CPEC projects so far,” the Nacta director stated.
Speaking about safety precautions for Chinese nationals, the Nacta director stated that a high-level core committee was formed, consisting of personnel from the police, security, intelligence, and other ministries.
The committee members were informed that a security cell had been established at the Chinese embassy and that contact was maintained. They were also told that the military handled security for CPEC projects in KP and Balochistan.
Interior ministry officials also informed the meeting attendees about CPEC projects and security measures for Chinese citizens.
They stated that the federal cabinet had resolved to compensate the next of kin of the Chinese citizens who were slain with $250,000 per household. However, they stated that there was no formal agreement between the governments on this.
Officials from the finance ministry confirmed that compensation had been provided to the relatives of the Chinese victims of the Karachi airport and Dasu dam attacks.
Interior Ministry officials informed committee members that 1% of each project’s expenses were spent on security for Chinese personnel.
They added Chinese diplomats also provided intelligence with Pakistani agencies.
When PTI MNA Dawar Kundi questioned interior ministry officials about a reported agreement for the compensation plan, they emphasized that no such arrangement had been struck and that the government had opted to distribute the money on its own.
The officials also provided proposals for further improving the security environment for Chinese nationals and troops in the country.
Five Chinese nationals working on the Dasu dam project were killed in a suicide explosion in Bisham in March.
In April 2022, at least four persons, including three Chinese nationals, were murdered and four more injured in a suicide bombing near the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute, which was claimed by the proscribed BLA.
The most serious attack targeting Chinese citizens in Pakistan since 2021 was the July 2021 attack on a bus near the Dasu hydropower plant in KP’s Upper Kohistan district, which killed at least 12 people, including nine Chinese engineers and two Frontier Corps personnel.
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