That the Chinese embassy in Islamabad has started weighing in on how Pakistan must proceed with its investigations into various incidents of terrorism targeting their nationals here is proof enough, if any was still needed, that Beijing’s patience is beginning to wear thin with both the attacks against its citizens in this country and the government’s inability to put a lid on them. The latest was in Gwadar, where the Chinese are building the landmark port right on the Arabian Sea, which is also the bedrock of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This was the third terrorist attack on Chinese workers in quick succession – only a matter of a few days or weeks – and at least two times the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility. Perhaps the Chinese are a little perplexed that the problem still exists because they are used to dealing with such things in a rather different manner, but they are right to point out that more needs to be done on the part of our security agencies to make sure that whoever was behind this is brought to justice and also to ensure that something like this never happens again.
We must be careful that we are nearing a very sensitive tipping point in this situation. It’s not just that the Chinese might be pushed away because of our inability to defend their workers working to make our future better. It’s also that this way there’s a good chance for us to lose at least some of the benefits that the CPEC bonanza is bringing to us. For if, in the worst case scenario, the Chinese pack up and leave because of security concerns, even if for a while till things get better, our economy might not recover from the blow anytime soon. China is our largest foreign investor since at least 2015, after all, and already the completion of the first phase of CPEC has led to reduced Chinese investments here, driving our FDI for the last month of the last fiscal and first month of the new fiscal through the floor.
Quite literally the last thing we need at this point is annoying the Chinese, especially since we are well aware of the source and nature of the threat. We must do everything that is necessary to nip this evil in the bud right now; before any more damage is done. Yet it is also important to note that buried deep below all the concern about our Chinese friends and well-wishers and the need to take CPEC forward is also the painful fact that two innocent children, whose only crime was to be caught playing with one another at the scene of the attack, also lost their lives in the hit on the Chinese workers. But nobody’s shedding too many tears for them.
The Chinese are right on the money. We must “punish the perpetrators” at once. *