Uprising against CCP Plundering of Pakistan: 4 Chinese engineers killed by local militants

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Pakistani militants attack convoy of Chinese engineers​

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/13/asia/militant-attack-chinese-engineers-pakistan-intl/index.html


An attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan was thwarted by Pakistan’s military, leaving two militants dead and the Chinese workers unharmed, police say.

Chakar Baloch, the police superintendent for the district of Gwadar, where the attack took place, told CNN that a clearance operation is underway after clashes between police and militants went on for two hours. Two security personnel were injured.

In a statement to CNN, the Baloch Liberation Army, a militant separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.



Pakistan’s armed forces said at least two militants were killed and three others were injured in an exchange of fire with security forces.

The military said that security forces have cordoned off the entire area and launched a search operation.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday it strongly condemned the attack, urging the Pakistani authorities to punish the perpetrators and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens.


“China will continue to work with Pakistan to prevent and respond to the threat of terrorism, and effectively protect the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan,” Chinese Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

“Any attempt to undermine (the) China-Pakistan friendship and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will never succeed,” he added.

The CPEC is a $60 billion project that links China’s western Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with a network of roads, railways, pipelines and power plants.

It’s a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese leader Xi jinping’s signature global infrastructure program.

Bordering Afghanistan and Iran, Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province. It’s also home to the Gwadar port, a crucial link in the CPEC.

 

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https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-balochistan-militants-attack-chinese-engineers/32546082.html

Unidentified militants on August 13 attacked a convoy of Chinese engineers in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province.

Officials told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that three security officers were injured in an exchange of fire, while two militants were killed and three injured.

Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, a senator and former Balochistan interior minister, wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that no Chinese nationals were killed in the attack.

The Pakistani military issued a statement confirming the attack, saying “terrorists used small arms and hand grenades during the activity.”

Chinese officials condemned the attack and also said no Chinese nationals were hurt in the attack.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

“Today, the BLA Majeed Brigade targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in the Gwadar District,” the statement said.

In a second statement, the BLA claimed the two suicide bombers had killed four Chinese engineers and nine Pakistani security troops. That information could not be verified.

The BLA has targeted Chinese nationals several times in the past and has warned Beijing not to conclude development deals in Balochistan with the Pakistan government.

In April 2022, a female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers in Karachi. In 2021, an explosion struck a bus carrying Chinese workers, killing nine of them, plus four other passengers. In 2020, the BLA claimed responsibility for an attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange that it said was aimed at “Chinese exploitative plans” in Balochistan.

China is carrying out numerous projects in Pakistan under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC is a cornerstone of China’s wide-reaching Belt and Road Initiative and focuses on linking China’s Xinjiang Province with the Gwadar Port.

The $60 billion initiative encompasses a wide range of development and infrastructure projects.

Thousands of Pakistani security forces have been deployed to counter threats to the projects.

Chinese Deputy Premier He Lifeng visited Islamabad in July to mark the 10th anniversary of the CPEC project.

Separately on August 13, Pakistani authorities said security forces had killed four suspected gunmen belonging to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan group (TTP) in the Bajaur tribal district near the Afghan border. One member of the security forces was killed in the raid, authorities said.

The Bajur District was a stronghold of the TTP -- also known as the Pakistani Taliban and a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban government -- before the Pakistani Army drove many of the militants out of the area.