BEIJING – China has been directly negotiating with the Baloch militants forover five years to pacify the insurgency in the Balochistan province in aneffort to protect its multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridorproject, reported Financial Timeslink>on Monday.

Pakistani officials have welcomed the talks between Baloch rebels andChinese envoys, saying: “Ultimately, if there’s peace in Balochistan thatwill benefit both of us.”

“The Chinese have quietly made a lot of progress,” FT quoted a Pakistaniofficial as saying. Even though separatists occasionally try to carry outthe odd attack, they are not making a forceful push, the official told thenewspaper.

Last year, 10 local workers were killed by unidentified gunmen whileworking near Gwadar port, the linchpin of the economic corridor.

“Some have warned that China’s investment could lead to Pakistan beingtreated like a client state by Beijing, despite promises that Chinesetroops would not be stationed there.”

Chinese officials did not comment on the talks, though the Chineseambassador to Islamabad said in a recent interview with the BBC thatmilitants in Balochistan were no longer a threat to the economic corridor.

One provincial tribal leader said many young men had been persuaded to laydown their weapons by the promise of financial benefits. “Today, young menare not getting attracted to join the insurgents as they did some 10 yearsago,” he said. “Many people see prosperity” as a result of theChina-Pakistan corridor, he said.

Balochistan has been facing a low-key insurgency for more than sevendecades. With the start of the Chinese projects in the region, the Balochseparatists had vowed to thwart the project at all cost. In past, therehave small attacks on the labourers and convoy concerning the CPEC.