By Sadaf Nadeem
Over a long period, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been viewed as a game-changer for Pakistan and more specifically to its southernmost, most underdeveloped province, Balochistan.
Gwadar Port, the central jewel of this project, positions Balochistan as a cornerstone for trade & industry. However, as CPEC enters a new phase, one question still lingers: Will the people of Balochistan be able to take advantage of such a grand local opportunity, or will they be pushed more towards the periphery? How can CPEC serve the people of Balochistan, and what hurdles impede its success?
There is no doubt about the significance of CPEC for Balochistan. It has a 750-km long coastline and will receive a great economic boost in future due to Gwadar’s strategic importance as an international deep port. Highways, railways, and special economic zones (SEZs) would boost infrastructure and create jobs, lifting a region long-suffering from poverty and development failures. As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, (2023) Balochistan has an unemployment rate of approximately 6.9% against national average of 5.8%.
But the experts have cautioned that the benefits of CPEC may not trickle down for the locals. According to a report published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE, 2020), although the regional infrastructure projects are progressing, there are still no real jobs for the people of Balochistan. In addition to this, more and more external workforce is being attracted in the wake of Gwadar Port’s development projects, further fueling the resentment among provincial residents who feel that they are not reaping enough shares from their homeland.
Balochistan’s long-standing political and security problems represent the single biggest threat to the successful implementation of CPEC. The province has been the hotbed of separatist and insurgent movements, and locals remain skeptical that this is another attempt to exploit their resources against their will. For example, Separatist assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018 illustrates how precarious CPEC-related projects have become. Moreover, the fragile security situation often sends negative signals to potential investors.
Addressing these challenges will need an inclusive and transparent process. Local communities should be brought in to plan and execute these projects for the people of Balochistan to benefit from CPEC in the true sense. This includes the opening up of jobs created by CPEC to locals, vocational training programs to help Baloch earn their livings, and the prioritizing of locals in business and economic zones. Workplace quota system must also be ensured under which competent and competitive workers of Balochistan should be preferred over other people in jobs while the unskilled should be trained as per the requirement of the job opportunities this project will create.
China’s rural development model is one specific illustration of such an inclusive approach, which has generated tremendous economic benefits for communities. These initiatives stress community engagement, fair allocation of resources, and sustained investment in human capital. Pakistan should also take a leaf out of China’s book by ensuring that Balochistan’s development is holistic and not just infrastructure-led. While China utilizes centralized governance and massive financial resources to eradicate poverty on a large scale, Balochistan must adopt these principles locally by focusing on community engagement and policies that actively involve its population in development projects.
A similar model in Balochistan may help ensure that local populations are not left behind. If CPEC becomes inclusive and transparent, it could serve as an engine of perennial development. But for this to work, the focus needs to be a well-rounded and a mix of infrastructure projects, skills development and empowering communities. While large infrastructure projects are crucial for jump-starting economic growth, sustained progress hinges on skill development through education and access to quality healthcare services. Such an integrated approach would ensure that Balochistan’s development is not merely about constructing roads or buildings but about developing human and social capital.
Building roads, ports and infrastructure is undoubtedly important; however, CPEC must go beyond such development alone, it must focus on improving the quality of life for local populations by addressing education healthcare, and social welfare needs alongside infrastructure improvement. For historically marginalized regions like Balochistan in particular, CPEC should ensure equitable representation for its people while fostering political empowerment.
Ultimately, Balochistan will only see the success of CPEC if its benefits permeate across all segments of its population equitably. There is a significant risk that CPEC could turn into another exploitative if both government and private investors fail to engage local communities in the development process,
Balochistan needs more than roads and ports; it needs its future. By contrast, in areas where infrastructure-led state capitalism has prospered-such as China’s under stretched Western provinces, road building was complemented by direct community engagement, alongside vocational training and education investment. If these elements are incorporated into Balochistan’s development strategy alongside security measures and education initiatives, CPEC could indeed become the transformative project it was meant to be.
Author: Sadaf Nadeem – Assistant Research at Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) at BUITEMS Quetta.
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).
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