Hyderabad: Following a suicide attack targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in the port city of Gwadar in Pakistan, a leading English daily of China said Saturday that Beijing must be prepared for a long-term fight against terrorism in Pakistan.
“The intentions of the international forces must have influenced and incited terror forces in Pakistan,” the Global Times, known for its sharp pro-Beijing views, said in an editorial headlined “Terrorists and their supporters are enemies of China”.
“It is highly likely that those forces collude with and support terrorism in Pakistan,” it stated. “China must be prepared for a long-term fight, together with the Pakistani government, against terrorism in Pakistan. China needs to resolutely support the Pakistani government to crack down on terrorism.”
At least two children were killed and several others were injured in the suicide attack in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan province Friday.
The blast occurred on Gwadar's Expressway near a Chinese vehicle, killing two children and injuring others, including a Chinese national.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a motorcycle bomb blast took place at Quetta's Hali Road roundabout, near the Balochistan Assembly and the high court, leaving two policemen dead and 21 others injured.
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Gwadar has been witnessing protests against a severe shortage of water and electricity and threats to livelihoods, which have been blamed on the Chinese.
The protests are part of a growing backlash against China's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the flagship project of which is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that leads to the port of Gwadar.
Referring to the Balochistan Liberation Army claiming responsibility for Friday's attack, the Global Times editorial said that Balochistan, a mountainous border province, “is the most unsafe area for Chinese citizens and has been a hotbed of terror attacks over the past years”.
Stating that the tribes in that province have a negative sentiment toward “modern governance” of Pakistan's central government and gradually formed terrorist groups, it said that “they have no prior enmity toward China”.
“Nevertheless, for the purpose of launching a heavy blow on the Pakistani government, they have begun to target and assault Chinese nationals working in Pakistan over the years to impose pressure on the Pakistani government,” the editorial stated.
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It also urged the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan “to strike the terrorist forces that were groomed in Afghanistan but now active in Pakistan”.
“This is a window through which China could observe the new government of Afghanistan,” it added. China is among the few countries that have expressed the intention to engage with the Taliban after the fundamentalist outfit captured power in Kabul last week.
The Global Times editorial comes after the Chinese embassy in Islamabad issued a statement strongly condemning the suicide attack in Gwadar.
The embassy demanded that Pakistan conduct a thorough investigation into the attack, and severely punish the perpetrators.
“At the same time, relevant departments at all levels in Pakistan must take practical and effective measures to accelerate to implement strengthened whole-process security measures and upgraded security cooperation mechanism to ensure that similar incidents will not happen again,” it added.
Pointing out that the security situation in Pakistan in recent times has been severe, the embassy statement said: “There have been several terrorist attacks in succession, resulting in the casualties of several Chinese citizens. The Chinese embassy in Pakistan reminds the Chinese citizens in Pakistan to be vigilant, strengthen safety precautions, reduce unnecessary outings, and take effective security protections.”
