Pakistan accuses India of sabotaging CPEC; claims it indulges in terror activities

Pakistan's defence minister Khurram Dastagir Khan today accused India of sabotaging the route of USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Unveiled in 2015, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connects Xinjiang province in northwest China with the deep-water Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in southwestern Pakistan.

A part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, the CPEC runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India has raised objection to it.

"Although every country can benefit from the biggest economic project, India is involved in nothing but carrying out directly or indirectly terrorism activities on the CPEC route," Khan told a conference on CPEC in Islamabad.

He claimed CPEC was facing challenges due to conspiracies to limit China's influence in the region.

He alleged that the arrest of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav from Balochistan was the biggest evidence of India's involvement in terror activities in Pakistan.

Khan said the regional disputes were a hurdle to peace between Pakistan and India which in return was hurting chances of any effort for mutual development.

He claimed that the resolution of Kashmir would help both countries to improve their relations.