China needs to re-examine her policy of silent demographic invasion since it offers too many soft targets and may result in creation of outfits like Junood ul-Hifsa in other regions of the world to deal with this problem

June 23 this year was a red letter day that China should mark in its little red book. At the base camp of Nanga Parbat in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), some 10 to 14 terrorists shot nine foreign tourists and one guide. The killed tourists included three Chinese nationals. The fourth Chinese national and the second guide got saved because they were tucked away from the rest and probably not discovered by the attackers. The fact that it was a preplanned attack aimed to just kill was apparent since the terrorists did not take any belongings of anybody whatsoever. Considering the altitude, the terrorists were obviously acclimatised but what foxed the authorities is the ease with which they could come through carrying arms, shot the trekkers and melted away without a trace in an area where there’s a large, covert and overt presence of intelligence personnel and their informers. They could obviously circumvent any questioning and frisking, as any outsider would have been subjected to. It is no secret that the GB area has been the scene of violence and instability because the predominant Shia population has been subjected to institutionalised killings and massacres.

Pakistan has also been trying to change the Shia face of the area since 2004 when major Sunni terrorist camps were shifted into the area but this has caused more resentment. It is for the same reason that Pakistan has ostensibly leased the area to China for 50 years. The situation now is that Chinese, aside from the purported development projects, are busy digging some 22 tunnels in the area, obviously to house their missiles underground and no local is permitted to venture even close to the area. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for the attack. What is more significant is that the TTP have announced their newly set up wing (Junood ul-Hifsa) undertook the killings and will continue to attack foreigners.

The June 23 killings have a number of lessons for China. First, that terrorist couldn’t care less about growing Chinese comprehensive national power. Second, China’s ‘higher than the mountains, deeper than the sea’ relationship cannot protect its nationals being target when the Taliban regard all Shias, Ismailis, non-Pashtuns, moderate Pashtuns as infidels who deserve to be massacred. Third, the silent demographic invasion that China has been executing globally is causing commensurate increase in resentment whether in Russia, Central Asian Republics and Myanmar. It is matter of time that this resentment will catch up in Pakistan as the Chinese make further ingress into Baluchistan. In fact, the repercussions may be faster that China expects with increasing radicalisation where TTP and affiliates will give the call of ‘all foreigners out’. Fourth, China needs to re-examine her policy of silent demographic invasion since it offers too many soft targets and may result in creation of outfits like Junood ul-Hifsa in other regions of the world to deal with this problem. Fifth, and the most important is China’s dirty war including in concert with Pakistan: arming, supporting, using terrorist organisations including Taliban, Nepalese and Indian Maoists, ULFA of India, PLA of Manipur, Kachin rebels and United State Wa Army of Myanmar to quote some.

It is well known that the China-Pakistan terror nexus goes back to the 1960s when Chouen-Lai advised Ayub Khan to raise irregular forces for fighting in India’s backyard. Then was the close cooperation in arming Taliban during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan followed by added support in terms of arms and advisors to help Taliban fight US/NATO forces.

But then the dividing line between friend and foe in such matters does not exist. Not only will Pakistan say it has no control over TTP and Junood ul-Hifsa, they will continue to be not able to find the 600-strong special unit of East Turkistan Islamic Movement (Etim) hiding inside Pakistan. So if China plans to continue its terror war, the chickens will come home to roost. The poultry in Pakistan is already overflowing.

The views expressed herein are the personal views of the author.