China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: The Uyghur Challenge and the Chinese Security Model

Abstract

Recent news reports on the alleged arrest and detention of 50 Uyghur women married to Pakistani men from Gilgit Baltistan and a resolution passed by the Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) demanding the federal government in Pakistan take steps to release these women exemplify the escalating on-ground mistrust between the so-called “iron-brothers.” Gilgit Baltistan is significant for both China and Pakistan since the region serves as the gateway to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which has seen a $62 billion investment by the Chinese.

The Uyghur presence in Baltistan is nothing new; marriage between the people from Gilgit Baltistan and Xinjiang has been a frequent affair. Recently, China’s increasing crackdown on Uyghurs in the name of the “war on terror” appears to be extending toward Uyghurs outside Chinese borders. As part of the larger standardization, surveillance, and securitization measures adopted in Xinjiang, the Chinese authorities had started arresting people married to foreigners and among those were the wives of the Gilgit Baltistan men who were mostly traders.