In a concerning turn of events, multiple terror attacks have occurred in Pakistan, leading to numerous fatalities and raising questions about security measures in place. In a tragic incident, five Chinese nationals and a Pakistani local lost their lives when a suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy carrying Chinese engineers. The convoy was travelling from Islamabad to a workers’ camp in Dasu within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when it was targeted. This devastating act left the Chinese community and the local populace in shock and reignited concerns over the safety of foreign nationals working in the region.
Further aggravating the situation, Baloch freedom fighters launched an assault on Pakistan’s second-largest Naval Air base, PNS Siddique, situated in Balochistan province’s Turbat City. This base, where Pakistan Navy helicopters and Chinese drones are stationed, was attacked by the Baloch Liberation Army’s Majid Brigade—a group that has since claimed responsibility for this brazen attack.
The latest attack on Chinese engineers took place in an unsettlingly short span after two other significant attacks targeting Chinese interests in Pakistan. Earlier assaults had seen an airbase and a strategic port in Balochistan province come under fire. These unsettling developments put a spotlight on the ongoing dangers faced by Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers involved in the Belt and Road Initiative projects. The region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and specifically Dasu, a site of a key dam project, has unfortunately become familiar with such violent and deadly incidents. Alarmingly, this wasn’t the first time that Dasu had been the focal point of terrorism. An earlier attack in 2021 resulted in the death of nine Chinese nationals and two Pakistani children when a bus was targeted and subsequently fell into a ravine after a blast.