Attacks in Balochistan fail to stop Beijing's Belt and Road

Baloch separatists carried out two attacks before Prime Minister Imran Khan flew to China for the Winter Olympics. The two countries discussed the future of Chinese investment in the port of Gwadar. Some accuse New Delhi of manipulating terrorist groups. The conflict dates back to partition with India.

Islamabad (AsiaNew/Agencies) - China and Pakistan have renewed agreements on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) despite a series of terrorist attacks in Balochistan, where independence groups are opposed to Chinese investments, accusing Beijing of looting them of their resources.

In meetings on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics (Pakistan has only one athlete competing), Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed in particular the progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a billion infrastructure project that is part of the Bri, with which Beijing intends to increase trade links with the rest of Asia and the world.

On February 5, Khan and Premier Li Keqiang signed an agreement to implement the second phase of Cpec, which is expected to link Xinjiang, the region in the far west of China, with the port of Gwadar in Belucistan. This will allow Beijing to reach Africa and the Middle East more easily, while Pakistan will gain in terms of transit fees.

But in recent days, a series of terrorist attacks by Baloch independents, who accuse Islamabad of allowing Beijing to exploit the region's mineral resources, has brought attention back to a region that has never been at peace.

Before Imran Khan flew to China, the Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), made up of about fifteen fighters, carried out two attacks against the operational centres of the local security forces in the districts of Noshki and Panjgur.

In Noshki, it took 16 hours to bring the situation under control. An explosion broke the windows of a civilian hospital and government buildings nearby. In Panjgur, fighting lasted three days and the civilian population was also trapped in the conflict. Some local residents said they were left without food. On the second day of the siege, a curfew was imposed and mobile phone services were suspended.

After '70 hours of standoff', the Bla declared the 'Gangjal' operation over. The leader of the organisation, Basheer Zeb, then released a 20-minute video claiming that his army had killed 195 soldiers of the Pakistani forces. In reality, the final death toll is expected to be a few dozen terrorists and soldiers.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but poorest province and is situated on the border with Iran and Afghanistan. Ethnic Beluci groups claim that their territory was forcibly incorporated in 1947, at the time of the partition with India.

Some local analysts have accused India of being behind the recent attacks, but Delhi denies any involvement. On 28 January, the Baloch Liberation Front, another secessionist group, had led an attack against Pakistani government forces in the town of Kech, killing a dozen soldiers.

Lieutenant Talat Masood told Anadolu Agency that India is trying to "open new fronts" in Belucistan by reactivating its network and unifying the terrorist groups already present. In 2016, an Indian spy had been found in Belucistan, towards the border with Iran, who was later sentenced to death, but whose case is now pending in the Islamabad High Court. In any case, Masood added, "these waves of terrorism will continue to come and go unless the real cause of terrorism - a sense of alienation - is eradicated".