20 Chinese citizens killed, 34 injured in 14 terrorist attacks since 2021: Nacta

Twenty Chinese citizens have been killed and 34 injured in terrorist attacks in the country since 2021, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) informed lawmakers on Tuesday.

October’s airport bombing that killed two Chinese engineers returning to work on a project after a holiday in Thailand was the latest in a string of high-profile attacks on Beijing’s interests in Pakistan.

The attack was claimed by the banned outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Police registered a first information report against leaders of the BLA and others three days after the incident.

The attacks have angered China, which has pushed the federal government to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system. Pakistan’s ongoing counter-terrorism efforts remain a key topic of discussion between the two countries due to the rising frequency of attacks targeting Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.

During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives today, Nacta Director Colonel Usman informed the participants that there were 14 terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens in the country since 2021 in which “20 [Chinese personnel] have been killed and 34 injured”.

The committee members were informed that eight of the attacks took place in Sindh, four in Balochistan and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that eight Pakistanis were also martyred and 25 were injured in these attacks.

The Nacta director told the committee that “a total of 20,000 Chinese nationals are settled in Pakistan” which included personnel for projects about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He added that their security was a top priority of the government.

He said that the BLA and other terrorist groups, including anti-state outfits, were involved in the attacks that mainly targeted non-CPEC projects and Chinese citizens travelling to different parts of the country.

“There has been no direct terrorist attack on CPEC projects so far,” the Nacta director said.

Speaking about the safety measures taken for Chinese citizens, the Nacta director said that a high-level core group was formed at the interior ministry, comprising members from the police, security, intelligence and other departments.

He added that two army corps were also deployed for CPEC security. The Nacta director said that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the security of Chinese citizens were revised in 2024, along with the SOPs for non-CPEC projects.

The committee members were informed that a security cell was also established at the Chinese embassy with which contact was maintained. They were also told that security for CPEC projects in KP and Balochistan was managed by the military.

Interior ministry officials also briefed the meeting’s participants on CPEC projects and security measures for Chinese citizens.

They said the federal cabinet had decided to compensate the next of kin of the Chinese citizens who were killed with $250,000 as compensation for each family. However, they said there was no formal agreement between the countries about this.

Officials from the finance ministry said that the compensation was paid to the families of the Chinese victims in the Karachi airport and Dasu dam attacks.

The interior ministry officials informed the committee members that one per cent of the funds of each project was spent on security for the Chinese personnel.

They said information was also shared by Chinese officials with Pakistani agencies.

Questioned by PTI MNA Dawar Kundi about a supposed agreement for the compensation scheme, interior ministry officials clarified that no such agreement had been reached and the government had decided to give the money on its own.

The officials also presented their recommendations for further improvement of the security situation for Chinese citizens and personnel in the country.

Earlier this year, five Chinese nationals working on the Dasu dam project perished in a suicide bombing in Bisham in March.

In April 2022, at least four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed while four others were injured in a suicide attack outside the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute, which was claimed by the banned BLA.

Of the major attacks that have targeted Chinese citizens in Pakistan since 2021, the biggest one was when at least 12 persons, including nine Chinese engineers and two Frontier Corps personnel, were killed when a bus was attacked near the Dasu hydropower plant in KP’s Upper Kohistan district in July 2021.