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Balochistan suicide attack a response to China's Muslim policies
Hat tip: Belmont ClubThursdays suicidal attack on Chinese nationals in Balochistan is said to be the first reaction to Chinese governments steps to curb Muslim insurgency in its own territory. This time the attack is said to have been carried out by some Islamic militants unlike the past when Baloch rebels were blamed for killings of Chinese workers. A few months back, one Muslim fighter, who had taken refuge in Pakistan after fleeing from a Muslim populated province of China, was hanged by Chinese authorities after he was captured in Islamabad and extradited to Beijing. It is being widely perceived here in British media that Muslim militants were now trying to take revenge from the Chinese government by attacking its nationals working in Pakistan. A report has claimed that Islamic extremists in Pakistan are making common cause with the Muslim insurgency in China; otherwise, there would seem to be no reason for it. It said Chinese mineworkers in southern Pakistan were targeted by a suicide bomber on Thursday what is believed to be part of the Islamist backlash, which has killed more than 140 people in the last week. A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a convoy of police vehicles escorting Chinese technicians through a busy street at Hub. The Chinese were unhurt but the massive explosion killed 29 Pakistanis, including seven police officers travelling in the van that was rammed. Zahid Hussain, Times correspondent in Islamabad, said Baloch tribes had never previously resorted to suicide bombings and that the attack appeared to carry the hallmarks of Islamic extremism. The choice of target also appeared to point to Islamists, Hussain said. Beijing was a close and valued ally of Pakistan, which last year handed back to China one of the leaders of the Muslim insurgency in China who had taken refuge in a Pakistan tribal area. Posted by: ryuge 2007-07-23 |
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