Pakistani militants have killed four people in an attack on the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. Mr. Burzine Waghmar, affiliated at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and EFSAS Fellow, said on BBC Radio 4 that the Chinese targets in Pakistan are due to the fact that the Baloch population feels there is no “trickle down” effects from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which ends in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. He continues that CPEC is an important part of the Chinese ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI). Gwadar Port in Balochistan has been leased to the Chinese, but little has come to the Baloch by way of it and few benefits showed – money from China is not finding its way to average Pakistanis, says Mr. Waghmar. When asked if there have been any changes between China and Pakistan under the new PM Imran Khan of Pakistan, he answers that no changes have really been seen thus far. However, the Chinese are skittish as a special force has been instituted to guard the corridor and fear more attacks. Mr. Waghmar states that China is the only party that has leverage on Pakistan and is pressuring Khan to get a handle on any possible insurgencies as to not disrupt the BRI.
Mr. Burzine Waghmar on BBC Radio 4
