A powerful car bomb exploded at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese Embassy personnel in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least four people and injuring more than ten.
The explosion occurred in the parking lot of Serena, a luxury hotel chain in Pakistan, located at Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, where the Pakistani military has been fighting a low-level insurgency for a decade.
Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Agence France-Presse that at least four people were killed and a dozen others were injured. He called this a "terrorist act" where a Chinese delegation of about four people led by the Chinese ambassador was staying in the hotel, and the ambassador was in a meeting when the explosion occurred. The Pakistani Taliban later stated that they were responsible for the bombing, which they said was a suicide attack.
According to a tweet by the provincial government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani, Chinese ambassador Nong Rong met with the provincial chief minister Jam Kamal Khan in the city earlier in the day.
Balochistan's provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Lango confirmed that the Chinese ambassador was unharmed. The Chinese ambassador added that he would complete his visit to Quetta on Thursday. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan did not immediately comment on this matter.
Azhar Ikram, a senior police officer of the city, confirmed the death toll and said that the Chinese ambassador was staying in the hotel but was not there when the explosion occurred. He said that preliminary investigations have shown that this is an improvised explosive device installed on one of the vehicles. Ikram stated that officials are trying to determine whether the bomb was planted in the vehicle parked in the hotel parking lot. He did not provide more details, saying that the police are still investigating the matter. Other security officials said the bomb exploded a few minutes after the car entered the parking lot, and the authorities are investigating to determine whether it was a suicide attack.
Although Balochistan in Pakistan is rich in natural resources, poverty is still rampant there. There is a great dissatisfaction among the locals who complain about the lack of fair distribution of natural gas and mineral resources, where the unemployment rate among Baluchis is as high as 40%. When billion dollars of Chinese funds flowed from China through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which forms an important part of China's Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), this has further aroused the resentment of the local tribal leaders and the Baluchis.
There have been a number of terror attack incidents in the past. In 2019, a gunman stormed into a luxury hotel overlooking the deep-water seaport of Gwadar, a BRI flagship project that allows China to strategically access to the Arabian Sea. This incident caused at least eight casualties. On 29 June 2020, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) building in Karachi, which is partly owned by a Chinese company.
I personally and other ANBOUND researchers have conducted in-depth researches on Balochistan for BRI projects many years ago. The hotel we stayed at was the exact same hotel in Quetta which was targeted recently, and we had also met with the same provincial governor of Balochistan who hosted dinner for me at his residence. The hotel where I stayed in Gwadar Port was the very same Intercontinental Hotel where gunmen attack occurred in 2019, and this was the only hotel in Gwadar Port. There was a big explosion at Quetta Airport less than half an hour after my flight took off, with about hundred people killed or injured. During my stay in Pakistan, there was a group military armed guards accompanying in all activities. Even so, security is wanting in Pakistan, perhaps with the exception of its capital Islamabad. It is quite clear that all these terror actions are aimed at China.
The BLA is a terrorist organization banned by the Pakistani government; its main forces are formed by the Marri, Bugti, and Mengal clans or sardars. After the end of the war in Afghanistan, a large number of Baloch youths who went to Afghanistan to participate in the "jihad" returned home with weapons. They were rich in combat experience and had long been influenced by extreme religious thoughts. Their return provided human resource and equipment for the anti-government forces. This had also enabled ties between the militants, the Taliban, and al-Qaida entrenched in Afghanistan to be established. The BLA and the Taliban today are therefore integrated and mutually supporting armed terrorist organizations. After the U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban is expected to control a larger part of Afghan territory, and may actually become the de facto ruler of areas outside of cities. This situation in turn will affect the security and stability of China's western border region, and the effects will be long-term.
With the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the situation in the western frontier of China has undergone structural changes. Just outside of China's border, Taliban fighters armed with AK47s and bazookas have since long been waiting. The current attacks are only the beginning. Faced with such a situation, relying on military actions to solve the problem would not be China's best option, and the means that can be adopted are mainly through financial approaches, yet it remains to be seen how much would China need to spend when the opponent it faces is the Taliban.
