Another deadly attack heightens concerns for Chinese nationals working on projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Tuesday, March 26: Five Chinese nationals and their local driver were killed in northwest Pakistan after a suicide bomber rammed their vehicle with an explosive-rigged car, say police.

The attack occurred in the district of Shangla in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the mountainous Karakoram Highway, which links Pakistan to China.

The five killed were construction workers and engineers on their way to the Chinese-funded Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, currently under construction in the remote upper Kohistan region. Their vehicle plunged into a deep ravine on impact with the bomber’s car as he detonated his explosives. No group has claimed responsibility for what Beijing has denounced as a terrorist attack.

According to Chinese news portal Global Times, Chinese experts believe Tuesday’s killing to be a copy of the July 2021 bombing attack on a bus convoy carrying Chinese engineers and their local co-workers, once again, on their way to the Dasu Dam. The investigation in that case, which claimed the lives of at least 13 people, identified the culprit as the Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. At the time, Pakistani authorities insisted the deaths were the result of a road accident but China disputed the claim, saying the victims had been the target of a suicide attack.

The suicide bombing on Tuesday comes less than a week after Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) insurgents opened fire on the Gwadar Port Authority in the southwestern province of Balochistan and tried to forcibly enter the complex, considered the flagship of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). All eight armed fighters were killed. The BLA represents the armed wing of the Majeed Brigade, a separatist group that demands secession of the province from Pakistan.

The deep-sea port city of Gwadar has been the focus of several BLA attacks in recent years. Home to many Chinese citizens working on the construction of a seaport there, two gunmen targeted a convoy of 23 Chinese engineers in August 2023 but were killed by security forces. Majeed Brigade claimed responsibility. In 2019, BLA fighters stormed the Pearl Continental, the city’s only luxury hotel, killing at least five people and wounding six.

Attacks by Baloch separatists and Islamist groups on Chinese nationals and infrastructure in Pakistan have disrupted plans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and raised concerns for the safety and security of the thousands of Chinese nationals who work on projects related to CPEC.

Condemning the Shangla attack in a statement on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi wrote:

“The enemy has targeted Chinese citizens who are the friends of Pakistan.” Without elaborating who he was referring to, Naqvi vowed to “deal with an iron hand” those responsible.

At the current time, Pakistani authorities plan to conduct DNA testing on the remains of the suicide bomber.

Prompted by security unease in the wake of the latest attack, the Power Construction Corporation of China (PCCC), the company overseeing the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project located in the same province as the Dasu Dam, has decided to suspend operations. More than 2,000 workers have been laid off the project scheduled for completion by May 2026.