"China-Pakistan Economic Corridor sparks Pakistan protests" 14 August 2024

A brand new China-backed international airport is getting ready to be inaugurated in Gwadar, a port city in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province...The airport is part of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China's global collection of infrastructure projects and trade networks known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)...

The ethnic Baloch, who constitute a majority in the province, have staged massive protests in recent days against the Pakistani government for what they view as unfair exploitation of their natural resources...

Mahrang Baloch, the BYC leader, told DW that they were organizing "a movement against Baloch genocide," accusing Pakistani authorities of carrying out thousands of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. "China or any other country investing in Balochistan is directly involved in the Baloch genocide...They are looting our resources with no gain to local Baloch," she said...

Analysts say the recent mass protests in Balochistan highlight the growing discontent among the local population. "The Chinese involvement did not adequately consider the pre-existing tensions in Gwadar between the Baloch and the Pakistani government. As a result, China has become entangled in the conflict between the Baloch and Islamabad," Malik Siraj Akbar, a political analyst, told DW...