Why an angry China is behind Pakistan's revamped counter-terror campaign

Pakistan's government recently approved a 'reinvigorated and re-energised' national counter-terrorism campaign, called 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam'

China's reported reluctance to invest in new China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) schemes, largely driven by Beijing's concerns about the security of its citizens and assets in Pakistan, appears to have finally forced the Pakistani government's hand, with Islamabad on Saturday approving a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign.

Days after Pakistani publication Dawn reported that the Pakistani government had approved a "reinvigorated and re-energised" national counter-terrorism campaign, called 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam', an editorial published by it hinted at the real reason behind the move: China's (security) concerns "should not be taken lightly by Pakistan's ruling elite", especially when the country "needs all the foreign investment it can get".

Referring to media reports that indicated that little progress was achieved, especially concerning CPEC, during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's tour of China earlier this month, the editorial pointed out that the official handouts issued at the time unambiguously expressed China's security concerns.

It gave the example of how during his meeting with PM Shehbaz, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed the hope that Pakistan would "create a safe, stable and predictable business environment", which would "guarantee the safety of Chinese" people and projects in Pakistan.

In Islamabad on Friday, Liu Jianchao, who heads the International Department of the Communist Party of China, delivered the same message to Pakistan's civil and military elite, in what the editorial described as an "uncharacteristically direct manner".

Liu reportedly told a forum attended by representatives of Pakistan's political parties that the country's security situation was "shaking the confidence of Chinese investors". Liu laid down three expectations from Beijing: Pakistan should improve its business environment, ensure political stability, and foster a "CPEC-friendly media environment".

The Dawn editorial stressed that the fact that Beijing had picked a public forum to air its concerns highlighted the seriousness it attached to security.

Stating that Islamabad has no option but to put an end to the militant threat to Chinese and other foreign projects in Pakistan, the editorial pointed out that PM Shehbaz himself hinted at this during Saturday's Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP) meeting.

Pakistan launches 'reinvigorated' counter-terror campaign

On Saturday, the Pakistani government approved Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign, reported Dawn.

The campaign, which the Pakistani Prime Minister's Office said would "integrate and synergise multiple lines of effort" to combat "extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner", was launched during a meeting of the NAP Central Apex Committee, chaired by PM Shehbaz.

Formulated by Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority and approved by the country's Parliament in 2014, the NAP's purpose is to counter terrorism and extremism in the country.

According to Pakistani media, the campaign will involve "renewed and full-blown kinetic efforts" of the Pakistani armed forces, which will be augmented by support from all law enforcement agencies, legislative changes, and regional diplomacy.

The Dawn report on the revamped counter-terrorism campaign also said that the forum reviewed measures to provide foolproof security for Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.

With PM Shehbaz's approval, new standard operating procedures were reportedly issued to various departments with the aim of enhancing mechanisms for providing comprehensive security to Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

The Dawn report quoted PM Shehbaz as saying, "A soft state can never gain the trust of investors." He reportedly added that a strong and healthy economy was not possible in an unstable state that was gripped by terrorism.

Published by Dawn earlier this month, a piece by security analyst Muhammad Amir Rana had said that China wanted Pakistan to carry out a large-scale anti-terrorism operation, similar to the two-year long 'Operation Zarb-e-Azb' launched by Pakistani armed forces in June 2014, against militants that were targeting Chinese nationals in the country.

The report about the Chinese demand came just two days ahead of PM Shehbaz's five-day visit to China on June 4, during which Pakistan and China were reportedly meant to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion-dollar CPEC project.

One of the supposed reasons for Beijing's demand was that it was not impressed with Islamabad's efforts to protect Chinese nationals and provide security for CPEC projects, despite Pakistani law-enforcement agencies completing the investigation into the Dasu terrorist attack.

The attack, carried out by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in March, killed five Chinese nationals.

Pakistan's revamped counter-terrorism campaign comes after an annual security report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies revealed that Pakistan had witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations in 2023, marking a six-year high.