Why Chinese workers are a prime terror target in Pakistan
As Chinese workers and development projects increasingly come under attack in Pakistan, security experts say separatist militants see the foreign presence as a threat to local resources and their grip on the restive South West.
Two Chinese nationals were killed in a bombing near the international airport of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Sunday. The attack, which took place around 11pm outside Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport, targeted a van of Chinese nationals, just a week before the high-level Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Shortly after, separatist militant group, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), from Pakistan’s troubled southwestern Balochistan province claimed responsibility, stating that it used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeting “a high-level convoy of Chinese engineers and investors”.
China has supported its smaller Asian allies Pakistan and Afghanistan with financial and infrastructure aid for decades and invested significantly in its defence and technology. But its resources are now prime targets for dozens of terrorist groups in the region, experts said.
“Sunday night’s attack is part of a larger pattern of attacks by Baloch separatist militants and Pakistani Taliban factions targeting Chinese nationals and interests in Pakistan,” said security analyst Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud.
This is one of the biggest terrorist attacks since 2018 targeting Chinese workers in Pakistan, Mr Mehsud told The Independent, including the November 2018 attack on Karachi Chinese Consulate which killed four, July 2021’s Dasu suicide attack which killed nine Chinese nationals, BLA’s attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in June 2020, and their suicide attack in April 2023 which killed three Chinese tutors.
This is the second major attack on Chinese nationals. Earlier in March, a suicide car bombing killed five Chinese workers in Pakistan’s Shangla district. The Chinese engineers, who were employed on the site of a hydropower project in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, were on their way to the Dasu Dam In Afghanistan. The December 2022 attack targeted Kabul’s China Town and wounded five Chinese nationals in a hotel where Beijing’s investors were staying.
“The Baloch militants’ propaganda is heavily focused on Chinese presence in Balochistan and they consider it as a threat to their influence and resources. They believe China’s financial and technical assistance to Pakistan strengthens the government’s grip on the region, undermining their activities and influence,” said Mr Mehsud, who is also the co-founder of The Khorasan Diary, a digital news and research platform specialising in tracking and analysing militancy in the region.
This perception fuels their attacks on Chinese nationals, investments, and projects, he added.
“This is not merely an attack but a larger security and intelligence failure by Pakistan in protecting Chinese nationals, mostly engineers working on major projects,” said Abdullah Khan, a senior defence analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
“They also show something critical: most of the attacks are moving targets and vehicles in transit carrying workers,” he said, adding that it meant there was obviously a security breach.
The BLA seeks independence for the province of Balochistan, located in Pakistan’s southwest and bordering on Afghanistan and Iran. BLA specifically targets Chinese interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province.
Security issues have affected China’s billions of planned investments, including under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road.
In August prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said the attacks by separatist militants were aimed at stopping development projects that form part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “The terrorists want to stop CPEC and development projects,” he said in a televised address to cabinet, adding that the militants also wanted to drive a wedge between Islamabad and Beijing.
But the predictable civilian losses will not deter China from sending its nationals to the region, Mr Khan added, stating that Mr Xi visited Pakistan in April 2015 for the massive CPEC project investment when the country was facing its worst surge in terrorism.
“The Chinese are very much aware that this is a conflict zone where they are pursuing these projects because when they had started the CPEC in Pakistan in 2015, that was the time Pakistan was facing the highest degree of terrorism in the country with tremendous terrorist attacks in 2014,” Mr Khan said.
“Their investment projects are development projects in Pakistan which they will continue despite these challenges,” he said.
Pakistan is preparing to host the SCO summit in capital Islamabad, which was roiled by protests and clashes over the weekend between police and supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. High-level Chinese representation and the first visit by an Indian foreign minister in a decade are expected at the summit next week, which authorities have vowed to secure.
Japanese government caught out in ‘embarrassing’ photo editing row
A group photo of Japan’s cabinet ministers was edited, the government admitted after media reports revealed discrepancies.
The photo, posted online by the new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s office, underwent minor edits, Japan’s cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed on Monday.
The edits included tucking in the white shirts of Mr Ishiba and defence minister Gen Nakatani, which were visible in the original media photos. “Minor editing was made,” Mr Hayashi told reporters, trying to deflect criticism of the photo manipulation.
Earlier, photos captured by local media revealed what seemed to be an untidy glimpse of white shirts beneath the suits worn by Mr Ishiba and his defence minister, Mr Nakatani, while the version on the government website had them neatly tucked in.
But not before online mockery of the “sloppy” original cabinet photo had taken over social media.
“This is more hideous than a group picture of some kind of a seniors’ club during a trip to a hot spring. It’s utterly embarrassing,” one user wrote on X, according to the BBC.
The Japan Times reported that the official photo also appeared to have repositioned several ministers to enhance their prominence.
Mr Hayashi explained that such minor edits have been common for official photos. “Group photos taken at official events at the Prime Minister’s Office will remain as a memento for the people for many years to come, which is why minor edits have been done in the past, and the practice is not exclusive to this photo,” Mr Hayashi said.
The photograph was taken after Japan’s new cabinet’s first meeting last week. A few days earlier, Mr Ishiba, 67, replaced Fumio Kishida as the leader of the ruling party and was officially appointed prime minister on Tuesday.
Mr Ishiba’s newly appointed cabinet has also faced criticism for gender inequality, with only two women in relatively minor positions in the 19-member team, a drop from five women in the previous cabinet.
Mr Ishiba has also announced plans for a snap election on 27 October.
In March, a photo of Kate Middleton and her three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, sparked controversy.
The picture was released but then pulled by news agencies after errors in the image were spotted. Initially, the palace refused to comment, but later the Princess of Wales apologised as she admitted to editing what was the first official picture of her since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a statement. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
Two rescued elephants drown after flooding at popular Thai sanctuary
Two rescued elephants died by drowning at a tourist hotspot in Thailand despite efforts to get the stranded animals out after it was flooded by rapid currents.
Faa Sai, a blind female elephant, and Ploy Thong, also a female, were confirmed dead following the “catastrophic flooding”, the Elephant National Park in Chiang Mai said.
Most of the 125 elephants kept at the park were led to safety and a few escaped on their own to seek higher ground and were reported missing.
The evacuation at the park started on Thursday after it received a flood warning. By Friday the Ping river, which runs along the eastern edge of the city, began overrunning its banks and gushing water filled the park.
The currents reportedly swept away several elephants even as park officials continued to rescue smaller animals like cats, dogs, pigs and buffalos. The rescue operation was hampered by the strong currents, which made some roads to the park inaccessible, and the lack of phone signal.
Several regions of Thailand have been hit by flash floods, torrential rains and landslides over recent weeks, with Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year, increasing the seasonal monsoon rainfall. The floods have destroyed or damaged around 8,625 households, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Saengduean Chailert, director of the sanctuary, was seen crying and mourning over the dead body of one of the elephants in a video shared by the park on Facebook.
She said Faa Sai and Ploy Thong were “found approximately 1 km downstream from the park, having succumbed to drowning”.
“We deeply appreciate the outpouring of kind words and support during this time of mourning and crisis,” she said.
Footage shared by the park showed the blind elephant tailing the herd while trying to navigate the hurdles along its way and eventually getting left behind.
Ploy Thong was rescued in 2018 from a riding camp in Pattaya. Despite her blindness, she lived harmoniously with her herd, who lovingly guided her throughout the park and ensured her safety, the park said.
“Tragically, Ploy Thong lost her herd during the flood, and despite the diligent efforts of her caretaker, she was swept away by the raging river,” it said.
Faa Sai was rescued in November 2007. Having reportedly endured animal cruelty, she arrived at the sanctuary as an extremely aggressive pachyderm.
“During the flood, Faa Sai ventured close to the river despite the concerted efforts of our team to keep her safe, and tragically, she too was taken by the current,” the park said.
After the devastation in northern Thailand, central parts of the country, including the capital Bangkok, braced for floods Sunday as the Irrigation Department announced it was releasing water from a major dam swelled by weeks of heavy rain.
The rain has stopped in Chiang Mai, but many people, especially the elderly, remain cut off by flood waters that in some areas are waist-high.
Volunteer rescue teams, often travelling by boat, have been working to supply them with food and evacuate them.
Popular tourist areas such as the city’s Night Bazaar and Tha Pae Gate are under as much as a metre of water.
Five dead and over 100 hospitalised after Indian air show in 36C heat
At least five people died and around 100 others were hospitalised after more a million people attended the Indian Air Force’s air show in southern Chennai city in scorching heat.
A record 1.3 million people flocked to the venue at the iconic Marina Beach in Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday to watch the thrilling display in 36C heat.
However, the situation turned awry as people began to leave the venue at 1pm local time after the air show ended and an overwhelming crowd packed the streets and roads, leading to a blockade. The airshow was held to mark the IAF’s 92nd anniversary and was widely publicised by the IAF, as it was the first such event in the coastal city of Chennai in over two decades.
People began filling the two-kilometre stretch of coastline from 7am in the blazing sun to secure the best spots for the 11.30am show. The event also earned a spot in the Limca Book of Records, India’s longest-running record book, for the record turnout at an airshow in the country.
As the event concluded, the large crowd began to disperse, leading to a stampede-like situation. People were stuck for more than 40 minutes as exit points became congested, and chaos ensued when some individuals broke through barricades in a desperate attempt to leave the venue.
Ambulances were unable to reach those in need, with some stranded in the crowd for over 30 minutes, delaying patient transfers to hospitals.
Footage showed people, car and ambulances stranded on roads as they tried to leave the venue. Metro stations and railway stations were also packed to capacity.
Around 230 people were treated for fainting and dehydration at the venue, with approximately 93 hospitalised, according to the Times of India.
Among the deceased was D John, 56, who collapsed around 3 pm, but the ambulance was reportedly delayed after getting stuck in the crowd. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Karthikeyan, 34, died after experiencing chest pain while riding his bike after leaving the event. A doctor at the RGGGH hospital said that heatstroke could not be ruled out as the cause of the chest pain, but the cause of death would be confirmed after the post-mortem report.
Two of the other three victims were identified as Srinivasan and Dinesh.
Chandramohan, a software engineer who attended the event and uses only one name, said there was no water supply at the function despite the “hot and humid” weather and he saw people fainting due to lack of air circulation and dehydration.
“Worst was the exit after the event. Roads were choked…Buses got stuck too,” he said.
Ma Subramanian, state minister for medical and family welfare, said in a post on X that the government had provided medical teams, security, temporary toilets, and drinking water supply for the event.
“The news of the deaths … is very sad and painful when the public… suffered due to overcrowding and high temperatures,” Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, member of parliament from ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party tweeted, adding unmanageable gatherings should be avoided.
The IAF event is being accused of poor management and lack of preparation in a country where mass gatherings have led to deaths in recent years.
In July 2024, at least 121 people were killed after a crowd crush during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.
in 2017, a stampede at a crowded pedestrian bridge connecting two Mumbai railway stations killed 22 people and 32 were injured.
Officials from the air force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.