Two Chinese working in Pakistan were kidnapped Wednesday, local police and China's state media said, an attack which could raise safety concerns for Beijing's multi-billion dollar investments in the country.

The abductions happened around midday in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan, which is at the heart of the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project but is racked by separatist and Islamist insurgencies.

"A Chinese couple was kidnapped from the neighbourhood of Jinnah town in Quetta today," senior local police official Aitzaz Goraya told AFP.

"They were dragged into a vehicle without number plates by three unknown men," he said. One Chinese woman managed to escape as the men began firing in the air to scare off onlookers.

A passer-by, Muhammad Zahir, was shot as he tried to prevent the abduction.

He told AFP he saw three men forcing a Chinese woman into a white car but she was resisting and crying.

"I stopped to observe the situation but they had forced the woman in the car by then and were pushing the man.

"So I rushed to them and asked what they were doing. One of them said, 'We are from the crime branch of the police and we are taking them for investigation' and I told them that they should not misbehave with people. Then the driver came out and shot me in my leg," the 35-year-old said.

Chinese state media confirmed the kidnapping, while deputy chief of mission in Islamabad Zhao Lijian said the embassy was working towards their release.

He said the pair had been studying Urdu at a language centre. Local police had earlier said they were teaching Chinese.

China is ramping up investment in its South Asian neighbour as part of a plan unveiled in 2015 that will link its far-western Xinjiang region to Gwadar port in Balochistan with a series of infrastructure, power and transport upgrades.

Enrolment in Mandarin-language courses has skyrocketed as a result, to prepare Pakistanis for an influx of tens of thousands of expected Chinese expatriates.

Pakistan has been battling Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in mineral-rich Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, it is the largest of Pakistan's four provinces, but the roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

A greater push towards peace and development by Pakistani authorities, including with CPEC, has reduced the violence considerably in recent years.

Tweet

Taliban attack on Afghan army base kills 10 soldiers
Kandahar, Afghanistan (AFP) May 23, 2017
At least 10 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed their army base in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said Tuesday, in the latest attack on Western-backed forces. The assault in Shah Wali Kot district late Monday came just a day after 20 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their outposts in the neighbouring province of Zabul. The Ta ... read more

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only