The "targeted" terrorist attack on the Chinese engineer convoy at the "Pakistan Railway" site caused a global shock. Is Pakistan and China at odds?
The terrorist organization "Baloch Liberation Army" immediately admitted responsibility and threatened China, claiming that China must withdraw from Balochistan and stop related projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor within 90 days, otherwise it will continue to attack Chinese and related projects.
This arrogant "customs clearance document" has sparked memories among the Chinese people, because this organization has carried out many attacks on Chinese citizens in the past.
A convoy of 23 Chinese engineers and technicians was attacked in the Gwadar port in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Fortunately, the vehicle was fitted with bulletproof glass, and our personnel were not injured.
The Pakistani army quickly carried out counter-terrorism operations and successfully killed 2*** Chinese personnel in Pakistan have suffered an average of about 4 terrorist attacks per year since 2001.
According to the World Counterterrorism Database, after each attack, the Baloch Liberation Army claims responsibility.
The Gwadar port, where Chinese engineers were attacked, is Pakistan's second largest deep-water port and an important deep-water port in Pakistan geographically facing the Persian Gulf to the west and the Indian Ocean to the south.
China's development project at this port began in 2001, and China was invited by Pakistan to bring its own funds and technology to help Pakistan develop the railway. However, this development process has not been smooth, and terrorist attacks have occurred frequently, posing considerable challenges to China and Pakistan.
Since its opening in 2014, the Gwadar port has become the key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has not only brought huge income to Pakistan, but also ensured the security of energy transportation between China and the Middle East.
At the same time, the Gwadar port is also an important transit point in Eurasia. It is precisely because of these obvious interests that citizens in China and Pakistan have become targets of the Baloch Liberation Army.
In May 2004, 12 Chinese engineers were attacked by a remote-controlled car bomb while working on the construction of the Gwadar port, resulting in the tragedy of three deaths and nine injuries; In February 2006, six Chinese engineers and technicians were attacked by gunmen while on duty, resulting in the same tragedy of three deaths and three injuries.
This was a series of major events that took place before the construction of the Gwadar port, in which the Baloch Liberation Army (ELA), which was active in the Balochistan region at the time, was the main attacker, and they targeted mainly engineers and technicians from China.
In 2014, the Gwadar port was completed and put into operation. Since then, the group has carried out indiscriminate attacks on Chinese personnel in Pakistan. They attacked the Chinese embassy, Chinese nationals staying in hotels in Gwadar Port, buses for Chinese workers, and even Chinese teachers teaching at the University of Karachi in Pakistan.
As a result of these attacks, every Chinese citizen killed in Pakistan has fallen victim to this terrorist group.
The "Baloch Liberation Army" is a leading armed group in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, whose history can be traced back to the "Baloch Khanate". When the British colonists invaded, the Britons directly annexed the Baloch territory to British India.
In the "Indo-Pakistani Plan" implemented after the end of British colonial rule, the Baluchis were assigned to the current state of Pakistan. Although the "Baloch Khanate" has disappeared, the "Baloch Liberation Army" still continues its spirit of resistance against Pakistan and fights to protect its own rights and interests.
After the establishment of Pakistan, the Baluchis, who cherished the deep nostalgia for the Batistan Khanate, were dissatisfied with the national policy of **, and then launched a rebellion under the slogan of "national independence".
Today's "Baloch Liberation Army" is the largest, most famous, and most brutal of the rebel groups of those years. They hold a grudge against Pakistan, believing that they have robbed them of their hopes of establishing their own nation-state.
However, even though Balochistan is one of Pakistan's largest and resource-rich provinces, it remains one of the least populated and poorest provinces in Pakistan after decades of development.
Although Balochistan has Pakistan's largest natural gas field and abundant reserves, its economic development lags behind due to the perennial occupation of the region by rebel terrorist groups.
However, the Baloch Liberation Army never blamed itself for the poverty of the province, especially after the 90s, when the intelligence services of the United States and India gradually established close ties with the group and provided a lot of support and military training, which made this already very crazy rebel group even more arrogant.
The Baloch people used the best means to induce the local poor people to join the organization. They have played a key role in the many terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens in Pakistan.
These attacks were carried out by women and children at the behest of the group, who regard Pakistan's security forces as their greatest enemy, and have been carrying out indiscriminate attacks for a long time, always occupying the top spot in Pakistan.
These people are basically uneducated, have a low standard of living, and have been turned into a group of "terror knives" by various forces.
The cooperation between China and Pakistan in the development of the Gwadar port should greatly improve the economic development of Balochistan Province and enable more Baloch people to live a prosperous life.
However, some people who are influenced by external forces such as the United States and India see it as a form of plunder and snatching. In fact, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an important part of China's Belt and Road Initiative and is a challenge for countries such as the United States and India.
The slogan "Eliminate terrorist organizations" has been used by the United States to give a veneer of legitimacy to wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and other places. However, facts have proved that while fighting terrorist organizations, the US ** team is also constantly cultivating new terrorist forces.
The contents of Afghanistan's top secret** reveal the atrocities of the US ** team, who shot civilians at will, dropped ammunition indiscriminately, and treated innocent Afghans as animals that could be abused at will.
This explains why, with the intervention of the United States, terrorist organizations have always appeared in those turbulent countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.
After the collapse of the Afghan puppet, the United States allocated its armaments in Afghanistan to the Baloch Liberation Army, which greatly enhanced the military strength of the organization. At present, China has not responded to the "expulsion order" organized by the Baloch Liberation Army.
Pakistani security forces have been working to squeeze the group's living space and continue to crack down on it. Immediately after the recent attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers, the Pakistani side made a proposal to strengthen domestic security measures and further combat terrorist groups.
China has firmly supported Pakistan and pledged not to weaken its cooperation with Pakistan because of the threat of terrorist organizations. The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the primary task of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, China has actively advocated in the international community, calling for a global joint crackdown on terrorist organizations, and at the same time recommending to the UN that these organizations be included in the blacklist of Security Council sanctions.
In the current international arena, China has demonstrated its military strength and counterterrorism capabilities. Whether it is the Baloch Liberation Army or other terrorist organizations, China has always put the safety of the lives and property of its citizens in the first place.
Our goal is to resolutely combat terrorism and maintain social stability. Therefore, those organizations and individuals who try to undermine China-Pakistan friendship and obstruct China-Pakistan economic cooperation through violent means will only arouse our determination to fight terrorism even stronger.
Let us work together to build a deeper friendship with Pakistan and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability!