On Friday, China’s government announced that it was “gravely concerned” about a statement from ISIS, claiming that it killed two Chinese teachers kidnapped from Quetta, Pakistan, the capital of the Baluchistan province.
“Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan,” said the Islamic State’s Amaq news agency.
On May 24, armed men pretending to be policemen kidnapped the two language teachers.
China has yet to identify the teachers; however, according to media reports, the two were a man and a woman who worked for a private language school.
News of their deaths immediately infuriated many Chinese citizens, expressing their anger on social media, some making strongly anti-Muslim comments.
The Chinese and the Baluchistan government are currently working to verify the teachers’ deaths.
“We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days. The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form,” continued the Ministry, “as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form.”
The kidnapping was most likely related to China’s $57 billion “Belt and Road” initiative in Baluchistan, where it is building rail, road and power infrastructure.
China plans to create a modern day “Silk Road,” a network of land and maritime routes connecting Asia with Africa and Europe. Baluchistan will include key parts of the infrastructure, linking the new port of Gwadar to western China.
According to China’s state-run newspaper the Global Times, published by the official People’s Daily, China will never give into terrorism. However, the newspaper advised Chinese people to be even more cautious while abroad, especially in remote areas.
“They also need to raise their ability to protect themselves, and as much as possible put distance between themselves and real danger,” said the Global Times.
Similarly, China’s ambassador to Pakistan, as well as other Chinese officials, has encouraged Pakistan to improve security.
Even though the Islamic State has had trouble gaining power in Pakistan, it has caused several major attacks there. Last month, for instance, ISIS members killed 25 people during an attack on the deputy chairman of the Senate in Baluchistan.
Pakistan has since responded to this attack. Its military recently performed a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave near Quetta, killing 12 “hardcore terrorists” from a banned local Islamist group and preventing ISIS from gaining a “foothold” in Baluchistan, according to a military statement released on Thursday.
Nonetheless, the kidnapping and death of the two Chinese teachers could bring greater problems to Pakistan, as it works to maintain its friendly relations with China.
In 2014 Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, economically benefiting the “all weather friends.”
Since then, the numbers of Pakistanis studying Mandarin has skyrocketed. Infrastructure construction, as well as security, has also increased.
Pakistani separatists, however, see the new infrastructure as a ploy to steal natural resources. This month militants killed 10 Pakistani workers building a road near the new port of Gwadar.
In addition to this violence, China is worried that Pakistani separatists will team up with Chinese separatists in Xinjiang, a far western Chinese region where violence has been prevalent in recent years.
