'Pay 5 Per Cent Tax Or...': After Baloch Fighters, TTP Threatens Chinese Projects In Pakistan Under Now Failing CPEC

The Pakistani Taliban has threatened to initiate attacks on Chinese Belt and Road development initiatives unless they receive a 5 per cent tax on the construction from the government.

In a video message, the leader of the Gandapur faction of the Taliban issued a threat to destroy the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The CPEC is an extensive infrastructure project of almost 3,600 km, encompassing roads and railways that stretch from China to the Arabian Sea.

“Five per cent is our tax everywhere,” the commander said, in an address to construction workers in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan.

He stated that if the taxes are not paid, Taliban fighters will aim their attacks at both machinery and personnel.

The threats from the Taliban leader are a part of an intimidation strategy targeting those participating in the implementation of the Pakistani segment of Xi Jinping's flagship global infrastructure project. Launched in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to establish new trade pathways linking China to the rest of the globe.

Abdul Sayed, a research analyst on the security of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region was quoted as saying by British newspaper The Telegraph as saying, “Extortion has been a common practice within the TTP which heavily relies on such revenue streams to cover their expenses.”

He stated that recent findings suggest that militants are imposing taxes on ministers, government officials, contractors, and various businesses in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal districts.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects China's westernmost province, Xinjiang, to the Gwadar port located in the southwest Pakistan.

To protect Beijing's interests, thousands of security personnel have been deployed by Pakistan to counter any potential threats.

In Pakistan, Chinese engineers and laborers have been targeted. A bus explosion in 2021 claimed the lives of 12 people, nine of whom were Chinese employees, as they were en route to the construction site of the Dasu dam.

Baloch separatists have also been attacking the Chinese workers involved in the CPEC project.

According to reports, no Chinese national was killed in the attack but two separatists were gunned down by the security forces.

On the 12 September, Donald Blome, the US ambassador to Pakistan, toured the China-funded deep-sea port project in Gwadar.

The purpose of this visit was to foster trust among the local community, in the wake of waning interest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from both Pakistan and China.

Since the Taliban regained control in neighbouring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban, also known as TTP, has experienced a revival. This resurgence has led to a surge of terrorism in Pakistan, predominantly in regions along its northern border.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated earlier this month that there has been a 60 per cent rise in terrorist attacks and a staggering 500 per cent surge in suicide bombings in the country since the Afghan Taliban regained control in August 2021.

On the 3 November, the Pakistani air base in the central city of Mianwali was targeted by the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a splinter group of the TTP.

The assault reportedly resulted in damage to around 14 aircraft and claimed the lives of 35 military staff.

The Pakistani military attempted to downplay the severity of the incident, claiming that only three non-operational planes had sustained minor damage.

The escalation of terrorist activities has strained the relationship between Islamabad and Kabul. Kakar has blamed the Taliban regime for backing the TTP, alleging that they have permitted the group to launch attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil.

Established in 2007, the TTP was created by militants who broke away from the Afghan Taliban. They once held extensive territories in northwest Pakistan until they were expelled by the Pakistan army in 2014.

Currently, the group has resumed its advances, capturing land in the northern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. In addition to this, they have set up a covert administration for the city of Peshawar and other frontier regions of Pakistan.