Pak, Iran, China To Talk About Security Cooperation

ISLAMABAD, (IANS) – Pakistan, Iran, and China will soon hold a trilateral meeting on counterterrorism and security, a decision experts see as a representation of Beijing’s increasing and further strengthening influence and role in bridging gaps between regional neighbors on important challenges and issues.

It should be noted that the upcoming trilateral consultation would be the second round of meetings as the first meeting was held in Beijing in June last year.

The focus of the Trilateral Consultation is to find cooperating grounds, strategies, and efforts to fight terrorism and groups that have been targeting the Belt and Road Initiative.

China has been seriously concerned and worried over the ongoing attacks on its nationals in Pakistan, which saw a significant surge in the recent past with two major attacks in Besham and Karachi.

Sources say that the attack on the van carrying Chinese engineers in Besham, which resulted in the killing of at least five of Beijing’s engineers, followed by a suicide attack on the vehicle carrying Japanese nationals in Karachi’s Landhi area, has rung serious alarm bells in Beijing.

Beijing has called on both Iran and Pakistan to act against groups including the Baloch Liberation Army, its suicide wing Majid Brigade, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other affiliate groups working to carry out attacks on Chinese nationals, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the BRI.

Kamran Yousaf, a senior political analyst, said that militant groups like the Majid Brigade have been targeting Chinese nationals in Pakistan and have been operating from bordering areas of the Pakistan-Iran border.

China’s regional influence is certainly increasing as it continues to engage with neighboring countries and work out ways to safeguard its Belt and Road Initiative .

Also, the situation along the Pakistan-Iran border has gone from bad to worse in the recent past with increased attacks in different parts of the Balochistan province by militant groups.

Experts believe that it was Beijing’s efforts that sorted out issues between Pakistan and Iran during January this year after Iran fired missiles into Pakistan targeting what it claimed as suspected terrorist hideouts of militant group, Jaish-e-Adl.

The cooperation between important regional countries to counterterrorism is certainly expected to raise eyebrows in Washington and the White House, which have recently imposed sanctions on at least three Chinese companies for supplying items to Pakistan’s long-range missile program.

However, despite the Western pressure on Pakistan, it seems that Islamabad is ready to resist and go ahead with joining the regional lobby with China.