“China will have to pay higher price due to Dalbandin suicide attack”, a leading security expert has argued in Hong Kong based English-language newspaper and Hong Kong’s newspaper of record, South China Morning Post (SCMP).
In an opinion piece published on SCMP, Director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Raffaello Pantucci, has said that the recent attempted suicide bombing by son of a senior Baloch leader against a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan highlights the complexity of the security problems China faces in Pakistan.
Raffaello Pantucci, whose work focuses on terrorism, counter-terrorism and China’s Eurasian relations, argues ‘the attack was a rare suicide bombing for the Baloch Liberation Army and was specifically targeting China. It showed how Beijing is finding itself dragged into a clash whose answer lies in the resolution of fundamental issues within Pakistan.’
Mr. Pantucci believes that “the longer-term answer to the problems of separatism in the regions are to be found in political solutions: issues that infrastructure and mining investment will not resolve, and may in fact be exacerbating.”
The international security expert also mentions possibility that negotiations might have happened between Chinese officials and some Baloch separatist groups, as disclosed by Financial Times in February this year. However, Mr. Pantucci confirms that top BLA commander Aslam Baloch, whose son Rehan Baloch carried out the suicide attack, has strongly denied talks with China. Quoting Aslam Baloch, the article states: “Our people are [disappearing] every day. They are being killed. Their houses are being looted and burned. In such a situation, any dialogue with China is impossible. We reject such a proposal.”
Mr. Pantucci says that “since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was announced, there have been many more reported incidents by the BLA specifically targeting CPEC projects – incidents they publicly link afterwards to CPEC –, leading mostly to the deaths of Pakistani guards or workers.”
The article also mentions attacks against Chinese nationals by Sindhi separatist groups, including by Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army.
Mr. Pantucci argues that there are obvious reasons for these attacks. ‘For separatist groups, the Pakistani state is the ultimate enemy. As Islamabad’s closest friend, Beijing becomes a target by association,’ he states.
The article quotes BLA’s suicide bomber Rehan Baloch’s message carrying out the suicide attakc against a busload of Chinese engineers: “Through this act, I want to make China and its people realise [that] whosoever will try to meddle in Baloch issues without Baloch nation’s consent, will face the wrath of Baloch nation.”
Mr. Pantucci asserts that ‘the longer-term answer to the problems of separatism in these regions are to be found in political solutions: issues that infrastructure and mining investment will not resolve, and may in fact be exacerbating.’