Community Perception towards the Socio-Economic Impact of CPEC on Northern Pakistan

DOI: 10.15580/GJSS.2018.2.050918067 The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) targets the less developed areas of Pakistan and China. In this way underdeveloped and deprived areas come into the road map of new era of holistic development. In the current study, the local community perception towards the socio-economic impact of CPEC projects was examined in different regions of Gilgit Baltistan (GB). The primary data was collected from three main divisions of GB i.e. Gilgit, Skardu and Hunza and samples of one hundred and twenty respondents were interviewed. The data from the above regions were collected and was analysed using N-vivo software for thematic analysis, with the aim to present the perception of local people regarding the ongoing projects of CPEC. The study consists of socio-economic indicators with qualitative in nature and its various dimensions including education, tourism, businesses, constitutional rights and their living standard. According to the study findings, it is obvious that CPEC is having a beneficial impact on socio-economic condition of the GB. By having new opportunities to the local people of GB in various aspects i.e. economic, political and social, this would help them for their sustainable development and capacity building. Submitted: 09/05/2018 Accepted: 03/06/2018 Published: 14/06/2018