The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday urged Islamabad to take practical and effective measures to protect its citizens in Pakistan in the wake of a terrorist attack by ethno-separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
“China will continue to work with Pakistan to jointly address the threat of terrorism and effectively protect the security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan. Any attempt to undermine the friendship between China and Pakistan and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will never succeed,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference in Beijing.
Wang said that the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has activated the emergency response plan, as he reminded the Chinese nationals in Pakistan to be vigilant, upgrade their security, prevent security risks and “closely monitor the situation to ensure safety”.
BLA Issues 90-day Deadline for China to Leave Balochistan
The BLA has warned China to withdraw from its projects in Balochistan, according to a statement posted by group’s spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch on social media on Monday.
“If China fails to shut its projects and withdraws from Balochistan in next 90 days then Baloch Liberation Army will further increase the number and intensity of its attacks against China. We would like to highlight that several sensitive Chinese interests are at our target, and our fighters are fully ready to carry out attacks against these interests”, the BLA said.
The BLA said that China hasn’t only provided “strategic and defensive support to Pakistani state to strengthen its occupation of Balochistan, but it has also been criminally involved in exploitation of Baloch resources”.
The CPEC, which is the flagship initiative of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), runs from Xinjiang to the port of Gwadar in Balochistan, making the region critical for Beijing’s interests.
The BLA said that its fighters, part of the ‘Majeed Brigade’, ambushed the military-protected convoy which it claimed was travelling from the airport to the sea port.
The terrorist attack on Sunday wasn’t the first time when BLA’s ‘Majeed Brigade’ targeted Chinese citizens in Pakistan.
Another terrorist attack by the group in the southern port city of Karachi last April left three Chinese citizens dead.