The incident occurred adjacent to volatile Balochistan province and was claimed by an outlawed Baloch group engaged in a simmering separatist insurgency opposed to Beijing\u2019s\u2026<\/b>
\nThe incident occurred adjacent to volatile Balochistan province and was claimed by an outlawed Baloch group engaged in a simmering separatist insurgency opposed to Beijing\u2019s investments on Pakistani soil.
Via Twitter, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said:
Pakistan\u2019s Dawn reports that security forces thwarted the attack after they engaged the terrorists in a firefight in response to the BLA fighters opening fire before detonating a hand grenade.
Dawn reveals:
Members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), who claimed responsibility for Friday\u2019s attack, have targeted CPEC projects before. In assuming blame for the attack Friday, the BLA said it was fighting \u201cChinese occupation.\u201d
The Associated Press (AP) reports:
Pakistani Imran Khan condemned the Chinese consulate attack and a separate one Friday in the Kalaya Bazar area of lower Orakzai tribal district, saying on Twitter, \u201cBoth these attacks are part of a planned campaign to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper.\u201d
\u201cLet there be no doubt in anyone\u2019s mind: we will crush the terrorists, whatever it takes,\u201d he declared:
AP reveals:
China\u2019s top ally, Pakistan, has long accused BLA of being a terrorist proxy of its regional rival India, claiming the separatist group receives military aid through New Delhi envoys in neighboring Afghanistan, an accusation that India denies.
Since 2004, the BLA has targeted Chinese projects in and around Pakistan\u2019s largest province Balochistan. More recently, the group has targeted Bejing\u2019s investments associated with the multi-billion dollar CPEC, which is a smaller part of China\u2019s sprawling Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
CPEC is expected to run through Pakistan\u2019s Balochistan province where various jihadist organizations \u2013 including the Islamic State (ISIS), the Taliban, and al-Qaeda \u2013 are known to operate.
In Sindh, located adjacent to Balochistan, China has invested billions to build the Gwadar port and roads.
Karachi, home to the Chinese consulate attacked by the alleged BLA terrorists on Friday, is the capital of Pakistan\u2019s Sindh province.
At the end of 2017, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, in an unusual security warning, cautioned its nationals in Pakistan that \u201cterrorists\u201d are planning to target them in a \u201cseries of attacks\u201d soon.
\u201cIt is understood that terrorists plan in the near term to launch a series of attacks against Chinese organizations and personnel in Pakistan,\u201d the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said in a statement, according to Reuters .
The embassy cautioned all \u201cChinese-invested organizations and Chinese citizens to increase security awareness, strengthen internal precautions, reduce trips outside as much as possible, and avoid crowded public spaces.\u201d
BLA recently took responsibility for killing five men on October 31 working for a construction company building 70 CPEC-linked housing developments.
Furthermore, the BLA in conjunction with another separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), killed two Pakistani paramilitary soldiers on October 26.
The previous month, seven terrorist attacks took place in Balochistan.
In August, the BLA terrorists claimed credit for a suicide bombing attack on a bus transporting Chinese workers, wounding three.
In May 2017, suspected BLA fighters killed at least 13 people within a week who were working on projects affiliated with CPEC.
Balochistan, Pakistan\u2019s largest province, is part of an ancient region that also covers parts of war-ravaged Afghanistan and state-sponsor of terror Iran.<\/p>\n