China warns its citizens in Pakistan of possible militant attacks

Embassy says it has information on a “series of terror attacks” planned against Chinese organizations and personnel

In this November 2, 2017 photo, Chinese woman Halima watches as her husband Saleh cooks at the Chinese Muslim restaurant in Islamabad, Pakistan. China, which has invested heavily in militancy-infested Pakistan, has warned its nationals residing in that country of “a series of terror attacks” targeting them.

China has warned its citizens in Pakistan to be on alert after receiving intelligence reports about possible attacks targeting Chinese.

The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad said on its website on Friday that it had information about a “series of terror attacks” planned against Chinese organizations and personnel, without giving details. It urged its citizens to stay inside and avoid crowded places.

Danger after foreign overtures

China’s exposure to militant attacks has risen in recent years as its overseas footprint expands. The Islamic State (IS) group said in June it kidnapped and killed two Chinese teachers in Quetta.

China has invested heavily in Pakistan, where thousands of Chinese workers are employed in $60-billion worth of infrastructure projects under Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative. The port and road-building projects in Balochistan province have come under frequent insurgent attacks.

For decades, a small number of Uighurs, an ethnic minority in western China that has chafed under Beijing's rule, have sought refuge with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s government has promised Beijing that it will deploy troops to secure the economic corridor being built and root out anti-China militants in its northwestern tribal areas.