Security and the Belt and Road: A Critical Analysis of Threats to Chinese Nationals and Businesses in Pakistan

Abstract

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has tremendous potential to transform regional dynamics in terms of socioeconomic development, trade and politics. However, this is unfolding against the backdrop of looming security threats in Pakistan. Internally, these threats come from extremist Islamist and ethnocentric groups in Pakistan. Externally, some foreign powers are alleged to be involved in trying to sabotage CPEC. These threats are real in terms of incidents of violence against Chinese individuals and businesses, and, given the strategic and economic importance of CPEC for both China and Pakistan, deserve an urgent policy response in terms of the strategic security of CPEC. Such a response may address issues of physical security and ideological security. The current approach by the Pakistani government is, in the main, focused on physical security and protective intelligence, with limited or no attention to the ideological roots of violence. In this chapter, a critical overview of security threats facing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Pakistan is offered. With a focus on CPEC, the chapter presents a comprehensive account of attacks on Chinese nationals and businesses from 2001 to 2017. This ongoing threat has increased the Chinese concerns about CPEC’s security. The chapter identifies Takfiri Islamists or Khawarij (Taliban and affiliates) and ethnic Baloch separatists as two major groups posing threats to CPEC. The analysis demonstrates that the much-publicized socioeconomic benefits of CPEC may not be fully realized unless both forms of militancy are addressed through a multi-pronged security policy. The chapter may guide government, security officials and policymakers in Pakistan and China to direct their attention to the two main sources of violence which pose threats to BRI in Pakistan. It may also help readers to understand the security aspects and requirements of engaging with or employing Chinese individuals and businesses in Pakistan.