Baloch separatists, Islamist extremists stand in the way of China's global ambitions

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Islamist extremist groups have severely dented China's efforts to access the rich mineral resources in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These minerals are crucial to fuel China's global ambitions to become a superpower, replacing the US. Baloch separatists view China as a neo-colonial power that is hand in glove with Pakistan's elite, including the army, to exploit the province's rich resources to the exclusion of locals.

Islamist extremist groups like Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) target the country at the behest of Uyghur separatists, who are present in both the groups. Even before the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced, Baloch separatists were already waging a war against the Pak establishment for exploiting the province. That is why these groups were enraged by the signing of six new pacts between Pakistan and China as part of the second phase of CPEC and its later version, the BRI.

One of the Baloch separatist groups, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), ambushed a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar, Balochistan, on the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day on August 13. Two attackers of BLA were gunned down by the Pakistan Army escorting the convoy. However, the Chinese engineers survived, protected inside bullet-proof vehicles.

Embarrassed by the incident, the Pakistan army avoided any reference to the presence of the Chinese nationals in the convoy. The Army's press release played down the incident. However, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad strongly reacted to the incident by condemning the same and called upon Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and punish the