Baloch Human Rights activist highlights negative impact of CPEC project amid recent attack in Shangla
A Baloch activist recently highlighted the negative implications of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan and said the project remains a wrong deal for the people of the region.
Khurshid Ahmed, the Information Secretary of the Baloch Human Rights Council, told ANI: "The repeated attacks on China Pakistan projects by the oppressed native populations underscore the narrative that so-called developmental projects initiated by the oppressor primarily serve their own interest while offering little to no benefit to the oppressed nation."
“The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an apparent example of injustice. Despite promises of economic prosperity, CPEC has brought increased brutalities and human rights violations against local communities," he said.
“These projects are systematically altering the demographic balance of affected regions, leaving indigenous groups like Baloch, Pashtuns and Sindhis marginalised and deprived,” Khurshid said.
He made the remarks amid the recent attacks on Chinese engineers in Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities have filed an FIR into the Shangla suicide attack incident which left at least five Chinese engineers killed, media reports said.
At least five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into their convoy.
The convoy consisting of 12 vehicles was travelling from Islamabad to Dasu Dam in Kohistan, when a suicide bomber hit one of the coaches with an explosive-laden vehicle, the FIR stated as quoted by ARY News.
Dasu is the site of a major dam in the country.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif directed to initiate a thorough investigation into the incident.