In the 10 days between March 16 and March 26, Pakistan witnessed five different attacks, three in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and two in its southwestern Balochistan province, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 people.
All five attacks were suicide bombings, in which at least 12 military personnel, five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani citizen died. While the country has experienced a dramatic surge in violence during the last year, the latest series of attacks, their targets, and the audacity with which they were carried out could signal a new chapter in Pakistan’s fight against armed groups, say analysts.
The last three attacks, coming so quickly in succession, appear to target Chinese interests in Pakistan. First, armed fighters attacked Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan, which was built with Chinese help. Then, an armed group attacked one of Pakistan’s largest naval bases, also in Balochistan, citing Chinese investment in the region as their motivation. And finally, fighters targeted Chinese engineers working on a Chinese-funded hydropower project in the country’s north, near Besham city.
The attack on Chinese workers triggered a sharp response from Beijing. “China asks Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the incident as soon as possible, hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Meanwhile, we ask Pakistan to take effective measures to protect the safety and security of Chinese nationals, institutions, and projects in Pakistan,” its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on March 27.
In response, the Pakistani government said it would bring “terrorists, and their facilitators and abettors to justice”, and announced the formation of an investigation team to further examine the attacks. Chinese interests have also been attacked repeatedly in the past. Two gunmen targeted a convoy of 23 Chinese engineers in Gwadar in August last year, but their attack was foiled by security officials.
Balochistan is the country’s largest province by area but also its poorest, despite being rich in natural resources, including oil, coal, gold, copper and gas reserves. This has bred accusations from many in Balochistan that successive Pakistani governments have neglected their concerns while exploiting the province and benefitting “foreigners”. The province has witnessed at least five rebellion movements since the formation of Pakistan in 1947. The government has been accused of initiating a violent crackdown and allegedly killing and disappearing thousands of ethnic Baloch who are suspected of either being rebels or supporting the rebellion.
However, the significant increase in violent incidents in the country in the past two years has coincided with the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in August 2021. In 2023, more than 650 attacks killed nearly 1,000 people, mostly those associated with the security forces. The biggest challenge to the the Pakistani state, however, has come from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group formed in 2007 which has targeted civilians as well as law enforcement personnel, resulting in thousands of deaths.
