Pakistan bombing puts spotlight on security at China’s flagship belt and road project
- Five people died when a suicide bomber targeted a Quetta hotel where the Chinese ambassador was staying
- Timing of attack could rattle investor confidence, observers say
Nong had been attending a meeting in another part of the city and was due to return to the hotel when the attack occurred, Pakistani officials said.
No Chinese casualties were reported.
01:29
Car bomb kills at least 4 at Pakistan hotel hosting China’s ambassador
The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said the suicide bomber had intended to strike a meeting of “locals and foreigners”, The New York Times reported.
Insurgent groups in Balochistan have claimed responsibility for attacks on Chinese targets in the past, saying Pakistan and China had exploited local natural resources.
In May 2019, a hotel in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar was attacked by gunmen from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army. The group’s spokesman threatened “even harsher” attacks and demanded China withdraw from projects in the region.
Previous targets of Baloch separatist attacks included the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and the partly Chinese-owned stock exchange in the southern city.
01:28
Several killed in attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange
Diplomatic observers in China said the incident would have a negative impact on the economic corridor.
“The corridor projects will need to pay more attention to security risks and anti-terrorism issues and invest more in security,” said Ma Jiali, a South Asia specialist at the China Reform Forum think tank.
“But I believe that with the two countries working together to fight terrorism, the economic corridor won’t be significantly affected by these terrorist attacks.”
Zhao Gancheng, head of South Asia studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the timing of the attack could rattle investor confidence.
“Security risks are one of the most serious challenges Chinese investments face in Pakistan, and incidents like this do hinder the progress and execution of the projects,” Zhao said.
“One of the aims of the economic corridor is to attract more Chinese investors to further develop Pakistan ... If these incidents keep happening, of course this will affect Chinese investors’ confidence to expand business there.”
Du Youkang, director of the Centre for Pakistan Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said he could not say whether the attack was aimed at the Chinese ambassador because there were many terrorist factions in Pakistan, and the Taliban in Pakistan had not tended to target Chinese investment or personnel in the past.
But Du said the US’ latest plan to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September would create security risks in Pakistan.
“Ever since the building of the economic corridor, both China and Pakistan have been very aware of the security risks involved in the country and have since then added many security measures and personnel to all kinds of Chinese projects,” Du said.
“However, terrorist attacks are after all something that you can hardly prevent.”
But Du and Zhao said the belt and road projects in Pakistan would continue in the longer run.
“There are so many investment projects and a lot of Chinese working in Pakistan considering the size and importance of the economic corridor, and with this in mind, I think the attacks that were apparently targeting China were already not that bad,” Du said.
“Compared to a lot of other belt and road countries, Pakistan is very friendly and welcoming.”
