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The TTP has stepped up its presence along the Karakoram Highway, even as Pakistan and China discuss $1.8 billion in financing to realign its Thakot-Raikot section.
Aerial view of the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan as seen in 2021.
With the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a critical node of the Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan, entering its second phase, insurgent and terrorist networks in Pakistan are strategically positioning themselves in areas critical to CPEC’s future.
CPEC connects China’s western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea. It enters Pakistan from the northern Gilgit-Baltistan area and culminates at Gwadar Port in Balochistan province.
