Deedar Karim

People of Gilgit Baltistan are receptive to the opportunities that CPEC has to offer but concerns pertaining climate and environmental risks posed by infrastructure as well as increasing tourism influx need addressal.

Communities united by religious beliefs and divided by borders have a chance to connect back through the grand CPEC, speaking of Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan and China's northwest. Sustainable livelihoods, education, and health facilities can help eradicate religious extremism also.

In addition to the local factors that have contributed to the emergence of various terrorist groups in Pakistan, the evidence of foreign influence, particularly from India and Iran, is too substantial to be dismissed.

While Iran's tacit assistance of terrorist groups in neighboring countries exacerbates the suffering of Pakistan and the South Asian region, insurgents and terrorist groups are challenging to put an end to as long as they have sanctuaries nearby.

Owing to its historical and current ties to regional terrorist groups, TTP is one of China's greatest security challenges. However, it is strategically unsustainable unless the Afghan Taliban stop supporting it on the pretext of fulfilling their ethno-religious obligations.