During a meeting of Pakistan’s National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, important measures and reports regarding protecting Chinese nationals were presented. The proposal to establish a joint China-Pakistan security company was also discussed.
Currently, 2,700 Chinese nationals are working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, for whose safety Pakistan Army’s special security divisions and units have been deployed. Over the past four years, engineers and investors associated with CPEC and other Chinese projects have been targeted in 14 attacks by the Baloch Liberation Army and other militant groups, resulting in the deaths of 20 Chinese nationals and injuries to 34 others.
To prevent such deadly attacks on Chinese engineers and investors, the Pakistan Army conducts thousands of intelligence-based operations annually. In the first 11 months of 2024 alone, 7,984 such operations were carried out, leading to 206 deaths and the enforced disappearances or arrests of 1,312 individuals.
In Balochistan, projects like CPEC and Saindak have faced significant criticism, labelled exploitative. These projects are perceived as plundering Balochistan’s resources, leading to a strong political stance against China in the region. Armed groups associated with Balochistan’s independence struggle have continued to carry out lethal attacks on Chinese projects and investors.
The security expenditures for these projects have significantly increased, raising their overall cost, which is a source of concern for China’s communist government. At the same time, deadly attacks on Chinese nationals persist. A joint China-Pakistan security initiative could further escalate costs and potentially increase attacks. This is due to the persistent threat from armed Baloch groups, who are likely to intensify assaults on Chinese interests if these so-called exploitative projects are not halted.