A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed five Chinese nationals and their local driver on Tuesday in an attack targeting Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
Knewz.com has learned that the attacker filled a vehicle with explosives and rammed it into a convoy carrying Chinese workers along a skinny and precarious road.
The group was heading toward the Dasu dam in northwest Pakistan, which is a large hydroelectric project that is one of the many economic initiatives launched by Beijing that are aimed to bring Pakistan and China closer together.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Pakistan government announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it had convened a “high-level emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.”
“The acts targeting Pakistan-China friendship are particularly aimed at creating mistrust between the two iron brothers,” said Sharif in the statement.
In a regular press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned the “act of terrorism” and extended its sympathies to the families of the victims.
“We asked Pakistan to speed up the hunt for the perpetrators, punish them by law, let justice be done for the victims, and take effective steps to protect the safety and security of Chinese personnel in Pakistan. Pakistan promised to thoroughly investigate the incident, provide timely updates on the progress of the investigation, strengthen security measures for Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, and ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
Lin added that “terrorism is a common enemy of humanity” and that “no attempt to sabotage China-Pakistan cooperation will ever succeed.”
The attacks are not the first time that Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan has been targeted by extremist violence.
In 2021, a bus explosion killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, who were also on their way to the Dasu dam.
In November of 2023, the Pakistani Taliban said it planned to attack the Belt and Road route if the government did not start to pay them a 5% tax on the construction projects. They denied involvement in the recent attack.
Last August, a group of militants attacked a convoy in southwestern Pakistan that was carrying Chinese workers to a major port. The Balochistan Liberation Army separatist group claimed that attack, and two of its militants were killed, with no casualties reported by the defenders.
Pakistan is an important strategic ally to China, and it is the staging ground for the Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious project that aimed to bring the global community into Beijing’s orbit through infrastructure development projects.
China has invested $62 billion into Pakistan’s infrastructure development since 2015, with many of the details about the plan remaining opaque as both countries seek to control the narrative of its success or failure.
The U.S. State Department criticized the Belt and Road Initiative for potential predatory lending practices. It should be noted that Pakistan counts both Washington and Beijing as important strategic partners, creating a push-pull for influence in the country.
The post ‘Act of Terrorism’: Suicide Bomber Kills 5 Chinese Workers in Attack on Infrastructure Project appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Kevin McSpadden
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