ISLAMABAD: Security officials expressed serious concern that India’s Research and Analysis Wing may be funding proxy attacks on Chinese nationals in Tajikistan and Afghanistan as retaliation for New Delhi’s forced withdrawal from a strategic airbase in Tajikistan.
Intelligence channels between Beijing and Islamabad indicate that the recent movement of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and East Turkestan Islamic Movement fighters from Afghanistan’s Kunar province into Tajikistan’s border areas has created a new corridor for anti-China operations.
Sources in the security establishment say the timing of attacks on Chinese engineers and miners coincides suspiciously with India’s lingering resentment over losing access to the Ayni airbase, which had provided Delhi a listening post close to both China and Pakistan.
Analysts believe New Delhi aims to disrupt Beijing’s expanding footprint in Central Asia, particularly gold mining ventures in northern Afghanistan and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative that traverse Tajikistan and the Wakhan corridor.
Reports reaching Islamabad suggest Indian intelligence has been smuggling disassembled combat drones through legitimate trade channels into Afghanistan, with some units allegedly reaching TTP and ETIM fighters who share operational overlap in the Badakhshan-Gorno-Badakhshan region.
The pattern, according to security assessments, mirrors India’s past support for Uzbek Islamic Movement elements during the 2000s when Delhi sought leverage against Pakistan-backed groups in the same theatre.
Security officials warn that continued targeting of Chinese workers risks pushing Beijing towards deeper military cooperation with Pakistan and Tajikistan, potentially establishing permanent People’s Liberation Army presence along the Wakhan corridor.
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Both countries have intensified joint patrolling along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border since October, with Chinese personnel now regularly operating inside Tajik military facilities near the trijunction.
The development has raised alarm in New Delhi, where officials reportedly fear a complete encirclement by the China-Pakistan axis in India’s northern neighbourhood.
Pakistan has assured Beijing of enhanced protection for all Chinese nationals and projects, while quietly pressing Tajikistan to restrict movement of militant networks that could threaten regional stability.
Source: www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298745/china-wary-india-afghanistan-ties-after-tajikistan-base-exit”>https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298745/china-wary-india-afghanistan-ties-after-tajikistan-base-exit