BALUCISTAN GOVERNOR'S VISIT TO EAST TURKISTAN DRAWS ATTENTION

The visit of Sheikh Jafar Khan Mandokheil, the governor of Pakistan's Balochistan province, to China and East Turkistan has attracted great interest, especially in Pakistan, which is the region where the Chinese have suffered the most armed attacks abroad. The governor's visit to Urumqi in particular has drawn attention.

According to a statement on the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Jafar Khan Mandokheil, the governor of Balochistan, paid an official visit to Beijing on May 26 and was welcomed by Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Bin. The governor, who went to East Turkistan a few days later, met with figures such as "Uyghur Autonomous Region Party Committee" Secretary Ma Xingrui, Deputy Secretary Chen Mingo and puppet chairman Erkin Tuniyaz on May 30.

Ma Xingrui stated during the meeting that China-Pakistan relations are constantly deepening and claimed that they are fully implementing the activities under the name of "fighting terrorism and maintaining stability" in East Turkistan in accordance with the policies of the Chinese regime and are dealing a blow to the "three powers".

Ma also said that the two sides will continuously strengthen "counter-terrorism and security cooperation" by improving communication mechanisms, opposing all forms of terrorism, and expanding cooperation in areas such as mining, agriculture, and trade.

Sheikh Jafar Khan also said in his speech that the fight against terrorism is an important issue in deepening bilateral cooperation, that Balochistan will stabilize the situation by opposing terrorism, and that the two sides will advance the development of mineral resources in Balochistan by increasing investment cooperation.

INCREASING ANTI-CHINA ATTACKS IN BALOCHISTAN

Balochistan province is one of the important regions in the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor", and China has made major investments, especially in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan. Pakistan relies on China's financial and other assistance to build the necessary infrastructure to unlock the resource potential of Balochistan province. However, China's various plans in the region are facing fierce resistance from armed groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army, which is demanding independence in the region.

These groups oppose the Pakistani army's plundering of Balochistan's natural resources in collaboration with China, and have carried out various armed attacks.

ATTACKS IN RECENT YEARS:

• In 2021, a Chinese bus was bombed, killing 13 people, including 9 Chinese.

• In April 2022, a suicide attack outside the Confucius Institute at Karachi University in Karachi, Pakistan, killed 3 Chinese.

• In March 2024, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers travelling to the construction of a dam in northwestern Pakistan, killing 5 Chinese and 1 Pakistani driver.

The Balochistan Liberation Army was responsible for all of these attacks.

In addition, the Balochistan National Army was established in March this year, aiming to harm China's interests in the Balochistan province. This alliance, named the "Balochistan National Liberation Front", has declared its aim to increase its power to attack Chinese workers doing construction in Pakistan, sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and oppose the plunder of local resources.