ISLAMABAD: Pakistani law enforcement agencies have launched hunt formilitants of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as part of anoperation in the border region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa andBalochistan.
Crackdown was started soon after Beijing alerted Pakistani authoritiesabout gravity of threats to workers associated with Chinese projects inPakistan which according to them prove tempting targets for multipleterrorist groups, operators of ETIM in particular last year.
“Such operations are matter of sensitivity. The ETIM and its new allies,Baloch rebels included too, tried to assemble themselves near the CPEC’sroutes — but we have almost eliminated ETIM bases on our soil,” one ofsecurity operators engaged to monitor the operation revealed. “Some fourdozen Uighur fighters were operating in sensitive areas of GB, KP, Gwadarand Balochistan.
They all remain committed to sabotage work on Chinese projects,” securityoperator who did not want to be named revealed this on Monday. Pakistanispy agencies have mounted secret raids to hunt down Chinese militants afterreports that members of Islamic State militia from Xingian’s Uighurcommunity might be returning from Syria.
Hundreds of the members of the ETIM, militant group behind attacks in ChinaXinjian province, joined ultra extremist Islamic State in recent years, butthey are now returning to Afghanistan after a near fall of Abu Bakeral-Baghdadi-led group in Syria.
Security agencies are trying to trace Chinese militants, who have sneakedinto Pakistan from Afghanistan to launch attacks against Beijing interests.
Chinese diplomats on 8th December last year warned its nationals ofpossible terrorist attacks targeting “Chinese-invested organisations andits citizens” in Pakistan. Around 30,000 Chinese workers have been engagedin around 280 projects across the country where about 35,000 securitypersonals were deployed.