What is the situation in Pakistan?On the other side of the border, Pakistani forces have for almost two decades also been fighting the latest iteration of an ethnic Baluch separatist insurgency, which has killed hundreds in attacks targeting security forces, government personnel and ethnically non-Baluch civilians.Baluch separatists and rights groups say the military’s crackdown on the insurgency has included widespread enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.Since 2014, the separatists have also targeted projects associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $58-billion project that is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and large parts of which run through mineral-rich Balochistan.Baluch separatists are far from the only group, however, to use the vast and largely ungoverned Pakistani region as a base.Western governments have in the past accused Pakistan of allowing Taliban leaders to enjoy a safe haven there while there has also been activity of a branch allied to the Islamic State group.
Source link
