A lurking threat to CPEC

Mercifully the bomb targeting a Chinese engineer in Karachi missed its mark by a wide margin. But the impact of the roadside explosion nevertheless left him and his Pakistani driver wounded, heightening concerns about the safety of foreign workers. The low-intensity device was planted on the green belt along a road and was set off as the vehicle carrying the engineer drove past. The attack was claimed by an ethnic separatist militant group opposed to plans for Chinese investment in Sindh. A pamphlet signed by the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army was found at the scene of the explosion, although it is difficult to pinpoint accurately those responsible at this stage.

That not much damage was done by what experts see as an amateurish and ham-handed assault is no excuse for complacency. The significance of the attack lies in the fact that this was the first prominent attempt made on the life of a Chinese working in Karachi since the launch of the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It reflects the nefarious designs of militant outfits raring to disrupt the multi-billion dollar scheme and other development projects financed and co-executed by China. Considering the sheer number of Chinese workers involved in different projects, the need to further tighten security measures can hardly be overemphasised. Over 3,470 Chinese nationals are working on 118 projects, including the CPEC, in Sindh and Balochistan. The Sindh police have constituted a 2,000-strong special security cell for Chinese citizens, but since there are more Chinese citizens in Sindh, especially in Karachi, than in any other province, the authorities would do well to consider expanding this cell further. The federal and provincial authorities need to coordinate to ensure that there are no chinks in the security armour so that foreign workers can continue focusing on their jobs with peace of mind. The Karachi incident should serve to add urgency to this task, given how important foreign investments are for our economy. All elements, both external and internal, that may want to jeopardise these investments must be identified and apprehended. Our economy already facing formidable challenges, security threats will only make matters worse.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2016.

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