Balochistan, Mar 15, 2017: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the 51.5 billion dollar project which aims to connect Kashgar, in China's western province of Xinjiang, with the port of Gwadar in the Pakistani province of Balochistan is being opposed by the "Khan of Kalat" – the Baloch dissident leader Mir Suleiman Ahmedzai.
He has asserted that there is no development value in this project and the locals would not be benefited. He has also welcomed India's assistance in stopping this project.
Similarly, Munir Mengal, President of Baloch Voice Foundation said that the project is a "strategic design" to loot Balochistan's resources and destroy their culture and identity, mentioned ANI report.
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All roads and pipelines crossing into China from Pakistan as part of the CPEC project will run through this mountainous region, and yet there are no plans for any special economic packages to support the people of Gilgit which is an ecologically delicate area.
The locals who would be affected have been demanding that the details of the project be shared with them, failing which they would consider the area as illegal.
The area of Gilgit-Baltistan is an area contested by India, as it has been occupied since 1947, when a British-supported military coup led to Pakistani occupation of the area.
– Prepared by Upama Bhattacharya. Twitter @Upama_myself
