World
China denies holding talks with Baloch terrorists to protect CPEC
China on Thursday refuted a report that it is secretly holding talks with Baloch militants in Pakistan for more than five years to protect its USD 60 billion CPEC, and hoped that Pakistan will step up security for the ambitious project. “I have never heard the report mentioned by you,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a media briefing, when asked about the report by British newspaper Financial Times.
Quoting three officials, the daily said China had been in direct contact with militants in the south-western province, where many of the scheme’s most important projects are located.
The 3,000-km-long CPEC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical cable fiber network.
It connects China’s Xinjiang province with Pakistan’s Gwadar port in the volatile Balochistan where Baloch nationalists have staged a number of attacks.
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