美国国家公共电台 NPR Militants, Police Killed In Failed Attack On Chinese Consulate In Karachi

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Two acts of violence in Pakistan today highlighted two trends in that giant country. One attack was a bomb at an open-air vegetable market. Early estimates found more than 35 people were killed in the explosion. The attack was inside a town that's home to many Shiite Muslims, who are a minority in Pakistan and often targeted. Now, the other attack was in the giant city of Karachi. Someone targeted the Chinese Consulate¹ there. Pakistan is one of many U.S. allies in which China plays an ever-larger role. So let's talk about that with NPR's Diaa Hadid, who's following the story. Hi there, Diaa.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE²: Hi.

INSKEEP: First, the attack itself - what happened?

HADID: So early this morning, three gunmen blasted their way onto the grounds of the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, and they tried to attack the building itself. But they were prevented by police, who engaged them in a gun battle. And you could hear the blasts in videos that were uploaded from the area. And they killed all three militants⁴. Two policemen were killed, and so were a father and son who'd gone to the consulate that morning to - apparently⁵ to pick up their visas.

INSKEEP: And I guess we should mention this is a kind of attack that we sometimes see in unstable⁶ areas. It's not a car bomb. It's not a suicide bomb. It's people coming in person, and they're trying to be an assault force, although they were driven - they were destroyed - killed here.

HADID: Right. And in this case, the attack was claimed by a group called the Baloch Liberation Army. And they've long had grievances⁷ against China's involvement in Pakistan. And in a statement reported by wire agencies, they said they were fighting China's occupation of Pakistan. So this is different from other militant³ attacks that do occur in Pakistan.

INSKEEP: OK. Americans hearing this might be surprised to think that anybody believes China occupies Pakistan. What exactly are they talking about?

HADID: Right. So China and Pakistan have a really old strategic relationship. It goes back 70 years. And it's really sort of taken off in recent years. China is investing billions of dollars into Pakistan's energy and into its infrastructure⁸. And Pakistan relies on China for billions of dollars in loans that keeps this country afloat. But this relationship does have its discontents. And one of them are people who live in this very poor province of Balochistan. There, China's investing in this enormous port called Gwadar. And we've spoken in the past to Baloch activists¹⁰ who allege¹¹ that the expansion of the port has displaced fishermen. It's siphoned off water and left residents with nowhere to go. And they say that Pakistani forces have taken a harder line against Baloch activists under the pretext¹² of trying to preserve China's security there. So there is simmering resentment¹³.

INSKEEP: Oh, so they feel that they are basically victims of an imperial force - that there's even more strong crackdowns on the Baloch activists just because the Chinese demand it.

HADID: That's right. And last year, we even documented a woman who was searching for her son. He was a Baloch activist⁹ in the city of Karachi. And we've seen increasing numbers here of people who've been disappeared - most likely by Pakistani security forces, according to activists, because they've been agitating¹⁴ against China's involvement in Balochistan.

INSKEEP: So what does an attack like this, unsuccessful as it was, say about China's involvement in Pakistan?

HADID: Well, the relationship is still strong. But what this might do is deter¹⁵ more Chinese investment in Pakistan. And that's something this country desperately¹⁶ needs right now.

INSKEEP: Diaa, thanks for the update. Really appreciate it.

HADID: You're welcome, Steve.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Diaa Hadid in Islamabad.