Security forces at the site of the bombing that killed 5 Chinese engineers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (French)
The frequency of attacks on sites linked to Chinese investments in Pakistan has recently escalated, and the most recent attacks prompted two Chinese companies to suspend work on two projects to build two hydroelectric dams in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwest of the country.
Between March 10 and 26, suicide attacks occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and two in Balochistan Province (southwest), killing 18 people, including 5 Chinese engineers and 12 Pakistani soldiers.
It seemed that the last three attacks were targeting Chinese interests in Pakistan, as the first targeted the port of Gwadar in Balochistan province, which was established with the help of China, and the second targeted the largest Pakistani naval base in the same province, while the third attack occurred last Tuesday in the Shangla region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and resulted in the death of... 5 Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver.
While the Pakistani Taliban denied responsibility for the recent attack in which the five Chinese engineers were killed, an armed group claimed responsibility for the attack on the naval base in Balochistan, indicating that its motive was the Chinese presence in the region.
Security analyst Iftikhar Firdaus said that the recent attacks on Chinese interests have raised fears within the security establishment in Pakistan that they are part of a broader plan to harm the country's economy and harm relations between Islamabad and Beijing.
China had requested a comprehensive investigation into the recent attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while Pakistan has tightened security measures for Chinese residing on its territory.
Dam in Rawalpindi near Islamabad (European)
Suspension of two projects
Meanwhile, a senior administrative official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that two Chinese companies had halted construction of two major projects, the Dasu and Diamer Basha dams, in the province.
The official added that the two companies requested new security plans from the government before resuming construction operations in the two projects in which about 1,250 Chinese employees work, noting that these Chinese are currently not allowed to leave their homes near the two sites.
The five Chinese engineers who were killed in the suicide bombing - last Tuesday - were working in the construction workshop of one of the two dams.
After the recent bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistani Information Minister Atalullah Tarar announced that the authorities would review all security measures to identify and fix gaps.
China is a close ally of Pakistan and the value of its investments in it amounts to about 62 billion dollars, which were pumped within the so-called economic corridor, which extends from southwestern China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar.
Source: Al Jazeera + French