Deadly Pakistan attacks threaten China economic ties

ISLAMABAD — A string of deadly attacks on Chinese interests in Pakistan is threatening to slam the brakes on Beijing’s multibillion-dollar investment in the country and further escalate security demands on Islamabad, analysts say.

Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack Tuesday in Besham, about 270 kilometres northwest of the capital. The victims were on their way to the Dasu hydropower project, a China-backed 4,320-megawatt electricity generation development. Construction work on the $4.2 billion project was suspended in the wake of the violence.