China's CPEC affected due to Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism, unrest: Report

In a serious concern for China, its ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is engulfed in Pakistan's worsening security situation amid a spate of terrorist attacks and domestic unrest. According to a report, these incidents have led to the slow progress of the project which is disappointing Beijing. The report also added that Beijing has been repeatedly expressing its disappointments to Islamabad as the latter has failed everytime when it comes to providing security to the project and the people involved in it.

Moreover, Pakistan itself is facing rising unrest and protests that are emanating from the locals of Balochistan, Gwadar and other areas as they accuse the Imran Khan-led government of depriving them of basic amenities and rights. China's woes have increased at CPEC's northern end, where it has heavily invested in infrastructure that is already operational. The tension have risen since the Taliban took over the Afghanistan again which has further raised prospects of threats from terror groups.

In addition, the Pakistan-based terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) too are known to be active not far from the route. As it stands, the Afghan Taliban are fighting the IS-K while the Imran Khan government is desperate for a deal with the TTP, the Geopolitica report stated on Saturday. The many terrorist groups in the region is said to be working in both, collusion and at cross-purpose at the same time, which is threatning the CPEC, the report added. 

Anti-CPEC protests in Gwadar 

Earlier in December, a report had stated that Pakistan's Gwadar port was witnessing massive demonstration against the mega developmental plans in line with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Therefore, Beijing was expressing concerns over the both "non-violent and armed" forms of the escalating protest in Pakistan city, as per a European think tank. Rallying under the "Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek" (Give Rights to Gwadar movement), the protestors from nearby coastal areas of Balochistan, including Turbat, Pishkan, Zaman, Buleda and Ormara and Pasni are agitating for the basic rights that have been denied or snatched away from them.

"Pakistan in general, and the province of Balochistan, and particular has been no stranger to demands by fast sections of its population for basic rights that have either been denied to them or snatched away from them. Too often for comfort, these demands have been stalked through violent protests involving senseless loss of lives," the European Foundation of South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said in its report.

With ANI inputs