South Asia Terrorism Portal

PAKISTAN

Targeting the Chinese
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On August 13, 2023, two terrorists were killed by Security Forces (SFs) after they attacked a convoy of vehicles belonging to Chinese engineers and SFs near Faqir Colony Bridge in Gwadar city (Gwadar District), Balochistan. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) disclosed that the terrorists carried out the attack using small arms and hand grenades but "due to the efficient and swift response, two terrorists were sent to hell with no harm to any military or civil persons".

A statement on the website of the Chinese consulate noted,

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which took responsibility of the attack, however claimed that 11 SF personnel and four Chinese nationals were killed in the attack. In a media statement, the BLA 'spokesman' Jeeyand Baloch declared that BLA's Majeed Brigade, the BLA's 'suicide bomber squad', was behind the attack and identified the attackers as Naveed Baloch alias Aslam of Nigewar Dasht in Kech District and Maqbool Baloch alias Qaim of Awaran District. It also shared the photographs of the two attackers. The BLA's statement read, further,

The statement added that BLA had issued China a 90-day ultimatum to withdraw from Balochistan, or prepare for intensified attacks on its "key interests" in the region.

The previous recorded incident against a Chinese target in Pakistan was on April 26, 2022, when at least five persons, including three Chinese nationals, their Pakistani driver and a security guard, were killed when a women suicide bomber blew herself up near a van transporting Chinese nationals from a Karachi University (KU) hostel to the Confucius Institute in Karachi. The three deceased Chinese nationals were identified as Confucius Institute Director Huang Guiping and staffers Ding Mupeng and Chen Sa. The BLA had claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter, releasing the image and name of the attacker, Fidayeen (suicide cadre) Shaari Baloch (30) aka Bramsh, of the Majeed Brigade. Shaari Baloch was the first Baloch woman suicide bomber.

According to partial data compiled by SATP, since July 19, 2007, at least 14 attacks directly targeting Chinese nationals have been recorded in Pakistan (12 in Balochistan and two in Sindh), resulting in 79 deaths (data till August 20, 2023). The dead included 10 Chinese nationals, 13 Pakistani SF personnel, 41 Pakistani civilians and 12 attackers. Another, 53 persons, including six Chinese nationals, were injured in these attacks.

Some of the other prominent incidents targeting Chinese nationals include:

August 20, 2021: A BLA suicide bomber attacked a convoy of Chinese engineers in the Nagori ward area of the Gwadar Expressway in Gwadar District, Balochistan, in which at least three persons, including two children, were killed and three persons, including a Chinese national, sustained injuries. BLA claimed responsibility for the attack. "BLA carried out a 'self-sacrificing' attack against a convoy of Chinese engineers," the group’s statement asserted.

April 21, 2021: At least five persons, including four Pakistani civilians and a police official, were killed and another 12 sustained injuries, when a bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel located on the Shahrah-e-Zarghun Road in Quetta, Balochistan. No Chinese national was injured. It was a suicide car bombing, but the terrorists could not enter the main hotel building where a Chinese delegation was staying. The explosion occurred before Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong, who was in Quetta on that day, was to arrive at the hotel. Nong Rong was the apparent target of the attack.

May 11, 2019: Four terrorists stormed the luxury Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel, in Gwadar, Balochistan. The Hotel had around 70 guests at the time, including 40 Chinese nationals. Nine persons, including four hotel employees, one Pakistan Navy sailor and all four attackers, were killed during the eight-hour long siege. BLA’s ‘Majeed Brigade’ claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was aimed at the Chinese and other foreign investors.

November 23, 2018: BLA fidayeen (suicide squad) ‘Majeed Brigade’ militants attacked the Chinese Consulate in Block 4 of the Clifton area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, leaving at least six people dead. However, no Chinese national was hurt in the attack. Three militants were killed in the operation by SFs. BLA claimed that the attackers had been assigned the task of targeting the Consulate.

August 11, 2018: At least six persons – among them three Chinese engineers – were injured in a suicide attack on a bus in the Dalbandin area of the Chagai District of Balochistan. The bus carrying Chinese engineers was being escorted by the Frontier Corps to the Dalbandin Airport from the Saindaik Cooper and Gold Mines, when the bomber tried to drive his explosives-laden vehicle in to the bus. BLA claimed responsibility for the attack. The suicide bomber, the first for the Baloch, was Rehan Aslam Baloch, the eldest son of Aslam Baloch, the brigade’s founder and BLA’s then-chief.

February 5, 2018: A Chinese national, Chen Zhu (46), who was a top official at a shipping firm, was shot dead by unknown armed assailants in a targeted attack at Zamzama Park in Clifton, Karachi.

The first and also the worst attack targeting Chinese nationals was, however, recorded on July 19, 2007, when a suicide bomber tried to ram his explosive laden vehicle into a van taking Chinese engineers to Karachi from Hub town, at the Gadani Bus Stop in the industrial town of Hub in Balochistan. The attacker missed the target when a Police van blocked its way. At least 30 people, including seven Policemen, were killed and 28 were injured. All seven Chinese engineers, including a woman, remained unhurt. This was also the first attack directly targeting Chinese nationals.

In another attack, not directly targeting Chinese nationals, but intended to hurt Chinese economic interests in Pakistan, at least 11 persons were killed when four terrorists attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Chundrigar Road, Karachi, on June 29, 2020. Those killed included four private security guards, one Policeman, two bystanders and all the four attackers. All the persons killed were Pakistani nationals. Significantly, after this attack BLA 'spokesperson' Jeeyand Baloch declared,

Baloch groups have carried out attacks directly targeting Chinese nationals engaged in economic activities, as they believe that China, in connivance with Islamabad, is exploiting the province. Their resentment towards the Chinese has grown stronger since the start of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in 2013, as both the civilian population and insurgents believe that CPEC is part of a 'strategic design' by China to loot resources and eliminate Pakistani, particularly Baloch, culture and identity. The USD 62 billion CPEC is a massive series of projects that includes a network of highways, railways and energy infrastructure, spanning the entire country. CPEC is a flagship project in China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Significantly, the BLA and other Baloch groups are increasingly targeting Chinese nationals after the inception of CPEC-related projects in 2013. Out of 14 attacks directly targeting Chinese nationals, 13 have been reported after the inception of CPEC (11 in Balochistan, two in Sindh).  

These attacks continue despite Pakistan’s best efforts and assurances to China that all such attacks would be thwarted. The News reported on March 5, 2018, that by March 2018, Pakistan deputed an estimated 37,000 security personnel to guard Chinese workers engaged in some 22 projects directly associated with CPEC and another 214 related small and mega projects in Pakistan. These include 15,780 military personnel trained under the Special Security Division (SSD) and the Maritime Security Force (MSF). Current force deployment estimates, however, are not publicly available.

On February 12, 2023, the then Federal Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah, while visiting Gwadar, announced that ‘foolproof security’ would be provided to Chinese nationals in Gwadar Port.

Not surprisingly, China has started taking direct measures to secure its national and vital installations. Faiz M. Baloch, editor of the online news website Balochwarna and the UK-based treasurer of the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) claimed on March 23, 2022,

Inputs now indicate that China continues to increase pressure on the Pakistan Government to permit deployment of Chinese security companies to guard its citizens and assets in Pakistan. Though the Pakistani Government have so far been successful in cajoling China to hold off its demand, assuring Beijing of 'foolproof security', with every fresh attack on Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan, China's scepticism about Pakistan's capabilities is likely to grow. There is, consequently, a growing likelihood of the presence of Chinese military boots on Baloch lands in the foreseeable future.

INDIA

Jharkhand: Terror Interrupted
Deepak Kumaar Nayak
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On August 19, 2023, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres killed a 65-year-old man by slitting his throat, and dumped his body near Gitilipi village under the Goilkera Police Station area in West Singhbhum District, Jharkhand. A couple of leaflets were found beside the body that stated that the man was killed as he was a ‘police informer’. Also, the posters carried a stern message, warning Special Police Officers and ‘police informers’ to cease their alleged espionage activities and instead embrace a life of laborious work. The posters conveyed that ‘police informers’ had a chance of redemption only if they surrendered to the CPI-Maoist group.

On August 15, 2023, two Police personnel were killed in a gunfight with cadres of the CPI-Maoist in a forest between Tumbahaka and Sarjomburu villages under Tonto Police Station limits in West Singhbhum District, Jharkhand. Acting on a tip-off about the presence of top Maoists in the area, a combined team of Security Forces (SFs) launched a massive search operation, and on spotting the approaching SF personnel, the Maoists opened fire on them, resulting in a gunfight in which the two Jharkhand Jaguar Force personnel were killed.

On August 11, 2023, one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper was killed and another was injured in an encounter with cadres of the CPI-Maoist in a forest in the Tonto area near Husipi village under the Goilkera Police Station limits in West Singhbhum District. The encounter broke out when a combined team of SFs were carrying out a joint search operation against Maoists in West Singhbhum.

On August 11, 2023, Ganesh Lohra (35), a ‘zonal commander’, and Santosh Yadav (32), a ‘commander’, of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, were killed when a fight broke out among the Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists] over possession of an AK-47 and distribution of the money collected as ‘levy’ (extortion money), in the Hotai Forest area under Panki Police Station limits in Palamu District. Palamu Superintendent of Police (SP) Reeshma Ramesan disclosed, “We are investigating to ascertain the reason that triggered the infight. Two ultras, including one carrying a cash award of Rs. 5 lakhs [INR 500,000], were killed in firing."

On July 19, 2023, CPI-Maoist cadres caught a villager, Dev Kumar Prajapati, brought him near the village school, tied his hands and feet with a rope, and thrashed him, in Dawna village under the Netarhat Police Station area in the Latehar District. Prajapati later died of the injuries sustained during beating.

According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 23 Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked fatalities (nine civilians, three SF personnel, and 11 Naxalites) have been registered in Jharkhand in 2023, thus far (data till August 20). During the corresponding period in 2022, 13 fatalities (five civilians, two SF personnel, and six Naxalites) were recorded, and in the remaining period of 2022, another eight fatalities (one civilian, and seven Naxalites) occurred.

There is, thus, a spike of 76.92 per cent in fatalities in the state in 2023, as compared to the first seven months and 20 days of 2022. The number of civilian fatalities, a key index of security in a region, increased from five in 2022 to eight in 2023. Moreover, the number of SF fatalities increased from two in 2022 to three in 2023.

On the other hand, the total number of Naxalites fatalities recorded in 2022 was 13, which decreased to 11 in 2023 (data till August 20).

Along with an increase in fatalities in LWE-linked violence, other parameters of violence in the state have also recorded a surge. Importantly, according to the SATP database, 17 incidents of killing have already been reported in the current year, as compared to nine in the corresponding period of 2022 and another five in the remaining period of 2022. At least 16 exchanges of fire between SFs and Naxalites have been reported in the state in the current year, as against 14 such encounters in the corresponding period of 2022 and another nine in the remaining period of 2022. Further, there have been at least 19 incidents of explosion in the current year, yielding six civilian fatalities, as compared to 10 such incidents in the corresponding period of 2022, with one civilian fatality, and another two such incidents with one civilian fatality in the remaining period of 2022.  

Search operations and combing raids have resulted in the recovery of arms on at least 47 occasions in 2023, compared to 43 such incident in the corresponding period of 2022, and another 44 such incidents recorded in the remaining period of 2022.

Significantly, according to an August 12, 2023, report, the Jharkhand Police and the CRPF are engaged in a battle in the hills and jungles of the Kolhan division (which comprises West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts) in the state, engaging with the top Maoist leaders and 'commanders', some of whom have bounties of over INR 40 million on their heads. Police divulged that the top three Maoist leaders - Misir Besra aka Bhaskar aka Sunirmal-ji, a 'politburo' and 'Central Military Commission' member of the CPI-Maoist, the 'supreme commander' of the 'Eastern Regional Bureau' of the CPI-Maoist (comprising Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Eastern India, with headquarter located in Saranda); 'central committee (CC)' members Asim Mondal aka Akash aka Timir and Patiram Majhi aka Anal-da aka Ramesh - have taken refuge in the dense terrain that traverses the boundaries of the strategic tri-junction of the three districts, West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, and Khunti. The trijunction serves as a pivotal point, and the Maoist operatives are capitalising on the intricate network of jungles and village roads to facilitate cross-border movements. Ashutosh Shekhar, SP for West Singhbhum, observed,

Moreover, officials involved in the operation disclosed that squads led by Ajay Mahato aka Tiger, Anmol-da aka Lalchand Hembram, and Chaman aka Lambu aka Karamchand Hansda, each carrying a reward of INR 2.5 million, are strategically positioned. This arrangement is complemented by ‘special zonal committee members’ Mochu aka Mehnat aka Bibhisan, and Amit Munda, both carrying a reward of INR 1.5 million. Additionally, ‘area commanders’ Kande, Sagen Angariya, and Ashwini, each carrying an INR 200,000 reward, collaborate to form a security perimeter around the top Maoist leaders. Furthermore, all approach paths have been heavily fortified with landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

An earlier report, on July 27, 2023, indicated that, while the Police and Central Armed Police Forces were trying to flush out the CPI-Maoist with special operations from the Kolhan and Porahat Forest Divisions in West Singhbhum District, the Maoists had resorted to poster campaigns in the district. Posters were found stuck on a wall and on trees at Jorapokhar village along the Sonua-Lonjo Road under the Sonua local Police Station area, about 130 kilometres from Jamshedpur. The posters read that the ‘boobytraps’ in the form of IEDs would not be removed from the Kolhan and Porahat Forest Divisions as long as the administration does not withdraw forward camps of Paramilitary Forces from the area. The posters also declared that the CPI-Maoist would observe a “martyrs’ week” from July 28 to August 3. Significantly, no fatality was recorded during this period.

In its June 19, 2021, review of categorization of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) classified eight Jharkhand’s districts [Chatra, Giridih, Gumla, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga, Saraikela-Kharsawan West Singhbhum] among the ‘25 Most Affected Districts’  from eight States across the country. Additionally, Garhwa District was classified as a 'District of Concern'. Further, at least 16 districts [Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Dumka, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ranchi, Saraikela-Kharsawan, and West Singhbhum] are included among the 70 LWE-affected Districts in 10 States across India covered under the Centre’s Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, which funds focused operations against the insurgents.

Nevertheless, on February 26, 2023, Jharkhand Director General of Police (DGP) Ajay Kumar Singh stated that the LWE problem in the state was in its last stage, as the SFs had launched a coordinated assault to wipe out the menace. He asserted,

Further, on June 21, 2023, Jharkhand Police, CRPF, and Jharkhand Jaguar Force personnel jointly demolished the CPI-Maoist ‘headquarters’ at Sarjomburu village/hamlet under the Tonto Block in West Singhbhum District. According to Police officials, Sarjomburu has been the Maoist ‘headquarters’ since 2017–18. The Jharkhand Police had reached there for the first time. Due to this, the Maoists were forced to retreat and fled there.

Further, on June 28, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed its first supplementary chargesheet at a NIA Special Court in Ranchi, Jharkhand, against 22-year-old Abhinav aka Gaurav Kumar aka Bittu from Aurangabad District in Bihar in the CPI-Maoist terror financing case. The case relates to funding of the revival of the outfit’s Magadh Zone of Bihar. NIA investigations revealed that Abhinav, arrested on January 3, 2023, was part of the efforts to raise funds for the organisation. He was also found to have motivated ex-cadres of the CPI-Maoist to help revive the Magadh Zone and worked as a conduit between the outfit’s operatives and other stakeholders in the Magadh Zone in Jharkhand and Bihar. The NIA had arrested three other accused, Tarun Kumar, Pradyuman Sharma, and Anandi Paswan, along with Abhinav, in the case and had charge-sheeted two accused on January 20, 2023.

Despite severe losses in the State as well as across the country, the Maoists continue with their efforts to recover their influence in their erstwhile areas of dominance, though with little success. Sustained SF operations have pushed the extremists to the margins, and their continuation will take the State closer to an enduring peace.