Mapping CPEC’s Risky Terrain

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) traverses some of the world’s most dangerous terrain. According to the 2016 Global Terrorism Index, Pakistan is among the countries most impacted by terrorism. Within Pakistan, terrorist attacks are concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan, and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where combined casualties account for 76% of the national toll. CPEC’s western route passes through the heart of this unrest, with three out of its four sub-corridors running through the hotspots illustrated above. Since 2010, terrorist incidents and causalities have declined in Pakistan. But insecurity and the drivers behind this violence remain major risks for CPEC’s ambitious projects.

Eun Kyung DuBois is a researcher with the Reconnecting Asia Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.