China firmly condemns this attack and opposes any kind of terrorism regardless of its form. “We will continue to firmly support Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, as well as in maintaining stability and protecting civilians,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference.
The spokeswoman added that China is “ready to work with Pakistan on counter-terrorism operations to keep the region safe and stable.”
More than 150 passengers have been rescued in a complex security operation in Pakistan’s Balochistan province following the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train by BLA members, military sources said today.
Security forces are continuing the operation to free the remaining hostages held by the BLA, which seized the train with more than 400 passengers on board as it was en route from Quetta to Peshawar.
The BLA, which seeks independence for Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province (43 percent of the country’s area), has a long history of insurgency, with attacks on Pakistani security forces and Chinese investment in the region.
China is an important economic and political partner of Pakistan. The economic corridor—a set of infrastructure projects to link western China to the Indian Ocean, part of China’s Belt and Road initiative—is estimated to cost more than €56 billion.
However, insurgent attacks on Chinese citizens have increased in recent years, coinciding with a surge in violence in Pakistan, which Islamabad has also linked to the rise to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021.
The corridor was forced to suspend operations in July 2021 when a suicide bomber killed 13 people, including nine Chinese engineers.
In April last year, five Chinese workers and a Pakistani were killed in a separate suicide attack.
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