A top US intelligence official warned on Friday China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would provide militant groups operating within Pakistan with “additional targets”.
Daniel Coats, the Director of US National Intelligence, during a Congressional hearing listed a number of groups, he said, pose threat to Pakistan’s internal security.
“The groups we judge will pose the greatest threat to Pakistan’s internal security include Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat ul-Ahrar, Al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, ISIS-K, Laskhare Jhangvi, and Lashkar-e Jhangvi al-Alami.”
He said the groups will pose a “sustained threat” to US forces operating in the region, adding that the intensity of militant attacks will increase in India and Afghanistan.
“The threat to the United States and the West from Pakistani-based terrorist groups will be persistent but diffuse. Plotting against the US homeland will be conducted on a more opportunistic basis or driven by individual members within these groups.
“Anti-Pakistan groups will probably focus more on soft targets. The emerging China Pakistan Economic Corridor will probably offer militants and terrorists additional targets,” Coats said.
China has pledged to invest up to $57 billion in Pakistan's rail, road and energy infrastructure through its vast modern-day "Silk Road" network of trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship "Belt and Road" project, has been credited with helping revive Pakistan's economy.
Leaders of 29 countries plus senior delegates from other nations have gathered in Beijing for a two-day summit starting on Sunday to map out a project that is seen as broad on ambition but short on specifics.