Rising China and western hybrid war
MOST recently Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed new Global Security Initiative (GSI) to safeguard the “collective” vested interests of Asia and the world alike.
It is indeed a strategic “balancing act” to promote spirits of “multi-polarity”, equal socio-economic rights and disseminate Global Development Initiative (GDI).
Rising China has been a dream of its successive leadership which has now become a reality and living miracle.
Despite devastating COVID-19 and fatal Omicron its “macro-economy” is still stable and sustainable.
Despite regional as well as international rise in poverty, unemployment, hunger, disease and discrimination, its political system is strong enough to easily manage all these socio-economic evils.
Its “Poverty Reduction Model (PRM)” has now become hot topic in western universities. Moreover, despite constant propaganda against its governance system, it has actually become “beacon of hope” to failing and dysfunctional democracies, fragile economies and last but not the least, disharmonious societies around the globe.
The false, fake and fictional propaganda and unwise debate over so-called real democracy of the West and Chinese political system has now achieved nothing but self-defeat and pretension to West.
In this regard, the political system of China has been rated the best “socialist system” in the world which always cares about “people” not corporate “profits”, “holistic philosophies” for equal rights, economic equality and provision of basic necessities of life and not “economic persecutions”, cronies and cartels.
Thus the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been judged as the best political party in the world which has its own system of governance, delivery, decentralization, politicization and democratization which is unique, innovative and functional and people centric.
Unfortunately, merchants of “social disparities” and gurus of “economic inequality” and “protagonists” of discrimination and disinformation have started new round of “hybrid war” against rising China in its “backyard” in terms of QUAD, AUKUS, China South Sea and Taiwan, dwindling Sri Lanka, and many African countries being economic partners of China through “BRI” and other befitting propositions.
Unfortunately, Pakistan the iron clad brother of China has also been in the line of fire because of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) since long.
The latest series of incidents of suicidal attacks against Chinese teachers in Karachi and at different places of ongoing mega projects all clearly indicate “surge” in the hybrid war “scheme of arrangement”.
Unfortunately, BBC and VOA Urdu/English channels have “intentionally” telecast very “disturbing” and “confusing” audio/video statements indicating that people of Balochistan are largely dissatisfied with the ongoing mega projects of CPEC and of course China.
According to their “Media Spin Doctrines (MSD)” Balochistan’s people and scattered communities are considered security threats from the ongoing development projects of CPEC and thus term Pak-China friendship as “Iron Cage” instead of “Iron Clad friendship” which is meant for immense socio-economic development and people’s centric projects.
In this context, BBC and VOA media “biased” coverage and so-called tiled investigative reports of women suicidal attacker are totally “incomplete”, “inappropriate” and “inadequate”.
Both the media outlets intentionally highlighted so-called fairy-tales instead of actual “hard facts” about Noor Jehan(the suicidal terrorist of the Karachi incident) and attached it to deep socio-economic deprivation, political marginalization and sever discrimination so-called resultant of CPEC and Chinese presence in Balochistan.
It is a bitter reality that Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has had indulged in anti-state heinous activities since long.
Its alleged regional sponsors from the Gulf countries/India and international supports from the US, UK and Europe have now been traced out and nabbed.
However, secretive so-called holy alliance is still operational. The surge in the TTP activities is also a potential threat and should be wake-up for the establishment and secretive agencies.
There is an urgent need to engage the people of the soil through immense socio-economic development to rescue the “wandering souls” from the clutches of preachers of “heavens” through “horrendous acts”.
There is an urgent need to “persuade” the armed youth through political, religious and people-diplomacy to pull them from their “polluted” so-called comfort-zones.
It is high time that neglected segments of Baloch society, especially women, should be engaged through projects of “real change” to make them free from so-called matrimonial, feudal, social and hunter-witches compulsions and conspiracies.
It is also high time to overhaul the outdated means of “supervision”, “snooping”, “human oriented” counter-terrorism doctrine and make vital changes accordingly.
In this connection, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif talked on phone and urged to have joint counter terrorism strategies against terrorists.
Consequently, Pakistan’s counterterrorism authorities arrested a woman who tried to launch a suicide attack against a Chinese convoy.
It demonstrates the Pakistani government’s commitment to stopping terrorism and preserving cooperation between the two countries.
Long-term cooperation between China and Pakistan is not affected by extreme terrorist activity.
According to Pakistani media, Pakistani counterterrorism authorities raided the town of Hoshab in Balochistan arresting a woman who tried to carry out a suicide bombing attack against a Chinese convoy along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and recovering the explosive device.
Pakistani counter-terrorism authorities said the woman was a member of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the same group that carried out the terrorist attack on the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi on April 26 which killed three Chinese nationals.
Chinese premier Li expressed China’s appreciation for Pakistan’s active investigation into the terrorist attack, and conveyed the cherishing of China-Pakistan friendship and the willingness to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Li pointed out that China is shocked and outraged by the recent attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi, and strongly condemns this terrorist attack.
He hopes that all comprehensively measures should be taken for Chinese institutions and citizens in Pakistan to ensure that similar tragedies will not happen again.
Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif once again expressed deep condolences over the death of Chinese nationals in the attack and sincere sympathy to the injured.
The terrorist organizations represented by the BLA chose to attack Chinese targets as they believed that China-Pakistan relations were the ‘soft underbelly’ of the Pakistani government, thus trying to force the Pakistani government to make concessions and compromises on political issues.
To conclude there is an urgent need to deal with the Baloch Liberation Army’s Majeed Brigade in order to dismantle its networks.
Revisiting, redefining and redrafting of “National Narrative” and National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism must be the need of hour.
Holistic and comprehensive people’s centric policies, human libraries and services to suffering humanity should be mantra of the “State” and it all wings.
CPEC is a blessing which should not be blasted because of some socio-economic domestic hardship because CPEC is the ultimate harbinger of prosperity and protection.
—The writer is Director, the Centre for South Asia & International Studies Islamabad & regional expert, China, CPEC & BRI.
