China urged to play ‘leading role’ in Pakistan anti-terror drive after string of attacks

China should play a “leading role” in counterterrorism efforts with Pakistan to prevent further attacks on Chinese personnel and projects, particularly in Balochistan province, a think tank report has said.

The two countries should strengthen intelligence gathering and sharing and allow private Chinese security companies to play a greater role, according to Feng Zhizhong, a researcher at the Security Studies Centre, which is affiliated to the People’s Public Security University of China, the country’s top police academy.

China has invested heavily in Pakistan as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, a transcontinental infrastructure project. But there have been a series of terrorist attacks targeting Chinese citizens and projects, particularly in Balochistan, where many major belt and road projects are located.

The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for many of these attacks and has accused China of exploiting local resources and empowering the government in Islamabad.

“In the face of the increasingly rampant terrorist activities of the BLA, [China] should change its mindset … and should even gradually play a leading role [in countering terrorism],” Feng’s report read.

Feng said China should strengthen its intelligence gathering and sharing with Pakistan, adding that the attacks were “directly related to China’s lagging counterterrorism capacity building in Pakistan”.