Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: China has been quietly holding talks with the Baloch for more than five years in an effort to protect the $60bn worth of infrastructure projects it is financing as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Three people with knowledge of the talks told the Financial Times that Beijing had been in direct contact with the Baloch insurgents, where many of the scheme’s most important projects are located. “The Chinese have quietly made a lot of progress,” said one Pakistani official. “Even though insurgents occasionally try to carry out the odd attack, they are not making a forceful push.”

“The Belt and Road Initiative is portrayed as an economic project to boost infrastructure and connectivity but, increasingly, it has significant local political and strategic dimensions,” said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Pakistani officials, however, have welcomed the talks between Baloch insurgents and Chinese envoys, even if they do not know the details of what has been discussed. “Ultimately, if there’s peace in Balochistan, that will benefit both of us,” said one official in Islamabad.

Another said the recent decision by the US to suspend security assistance to Pakistan had convinced many in Islamabad that China was a more genuine partner. “The Chinese are here to stay and help Pakistan, unlike the Americans, who cannot be trusted,” the person said.

Pakistan is planning to buy Chinese military helicopters and components for surveillance drones as part of its plan to fortify its border with Afghanistan with a 2,600km-long fence.

Chinese officials did not comment on the talks, though the Chinese ambassador to Islamabad said in a recent interview with the BBC that militants in Balochistan were no longer a threat to the economic corridor. One provincial tribal leader said many young men had been persuaded to lay down their weapons by the promise of financial benefits. “Today, young men are not getting attracted to join the insurgents as they did some 10 years ago,” he said. “Many people see prosperity” as a result of the China-Pakistan corridor, he said.

Published in Daily Times, February 20^th 2018.