What China's ambitions in Pakistan mean for Baloch aspirations and identity

Straddling the boundaries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, the Baloch people have long endured as a distinct ethnic group whose aspirations have been overshadowed by the ambitions of larger state actors. In Balochistan, in Pakistan's west, Baloch ethno-nationalist assertions of identity have long driven protests and petitioning directed at Islamabad -- occasionally taking the form of militant insurgencies. Added to the mix are tensions arising from the Beijing-backed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with its grand infrastructure plans -- including the massive Gwadar Port expansion -- that cut through the region largely oblivious to Baloch concerns or input. To get a closer look at the Baloch people, how they're regarded and treated by Pakistani authorities, and how they're being impacted by CPEC, Ear to Asia host Sami Shah is joined by Pakistan watcher Dr. Nadeem Malik from Asia Institute, and expert on China’s Belt and Road Initiative Dr Pascal Abb of Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF).

Further reading:

China, Pakistan and the Belt and Road Initiative: The Experience of an Early Adopter State (2024, Routledge). Edited By Pascal Abb, Filippo Boni, Hasan H. Karrar.

All geopolitics is local: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor amidst overlapping center-periphery relations (2023, Third World Quarterly Vol 44, No. 1). By Pascal Abb.

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