One small hint is which one is being built? That 5 nation route through chahbahar or cpec through gwadar??
Gawadar Port. That is ground route, cheaper and no hassle, which connects from Iran to Turkey and Middle East and on other side, Central Asia and China to Russia. More countries will get involved.
Whereas Chahbahar port is based on sea route, expensive and a lot of hassles on sea routes. For the project to operate on ground route, it is possible through Balochistan hence foreign-funded anti-Pakistani propaganda on Balochistan to separate Balochistan from Pakistan, or through Pakistan officially to Afghanistan leaving open accessible to Central Asia and whatnot.
Recently, Pakistan just denied India an access to Pakistan-Afghanistan trade transit which angered India no doubt, but as usual, left Afghanistan speechless and helpless not to pull out of Pakistan-Afghanistan transit.
I am not surprised. China is likely to explore alternative methods to gain access to ports in the Indian Ocean (i.e. contingency plan). Supposedly, if CPEC doesn't works for China as envisioned, it is wise for China to have a PLAN - B.
The above being said, alternative options do not jeopardize the CPEC project. Fellow Pakistani should not panic from such developments. China is simply protecting her interests.
CPEC is a fantastic project. It have the potential to spur economic growth in Pakistan. However, Pakistan needs to play its cards right in the geopolitical arena to ensure its long-term success.
Pakistan is not problem. It is usual that anarchist PTI continues to create more problems for Pakistan making CPEC as political hostage never mind its history of holding cities and towns as hostage earlier gone unnoticed. PTI is huge problem for Pakistan. The sooner that anarchist PTI is dealt with, the better for Pakistan and its economy in the long run.