Baloch separatist leader hits out at China for exploiting Balochistan in name of CPEC

Aug 11, 2022

Quetta (Pakistan), August 10 (ANI): Baloch separatist leader Allah Nazar Baloch has hit out at China, demanding Beijing to immediately stop CPEC, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project in Balochistan as it has forcibly displaced hundreds of indigenous people. In a video message, the chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front said China should avoid being a partner of Pakistan, the illegal occupier of Balochistan. He highlighted there has been a rise in enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings in the wake of CPEC and urged other foreign investors to stay away from the region. His statement came after recently China and Pakistan called on third countries to join in the multi-billion dollar projects - a move India has also condemned as the CPEC passes through Gilgit Baltistan, a region under Pakistani occupation that New Delhi claims as its own. Ethnic Baloch guerrillas have been fighting the Pakistan government for decades for a separate state, saying Islamabad along with China has been unfairly exploiting Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources under the garb of CPEC. Rights activists also blame thousands of Baloch people have been killed or arbitrarily detained by the Pakistan military for raising their voices against its atrocities and the CPEC.