The CPEC is one of the seven corridors planned by China for regional economic development. However, for certain geographic and strategic reasons, the CPEC is the most important project for the Chinese government. China deliberated over the project for a long time and a major part of the planning was completed during the PPP regime.
The Chinese prime minister visited Pakistan a few days before Nawaz Sharif took oath; an MoU for the CPEC was signed during that visit. In July 2013, Nawaz Sharif visited China for further deliberation on the CPEC. Pakistan’s Ministry for Planning and China’s National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) were nominated as the focal ministries. These ministries then nominated members for a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) to plan, oversee and implement the project. Ahsan Iqbal heads the JCC from Pakistan.
Under the JCC there are separate working groups to look after areas like planning, transport, energy, the Gwadar port etc. No legislative body, division, ministry or any other body in Pakistan holds any authority on CPEC matters. The JCC is the final authority according to the MoU.
One important, and alarming, fact is that all the basic proposals, including routes and details, were presented by the Pakistani side and were approved by the JCC long before the Chinese president visited Pakistan. That, simply, translates into: all claims by the political leadership to adjust regional demands, and the All Parties Conference (APC) headed by PM, is sheer deception. To this date, no reservation by any political party of Pakistan or province has been presented or discussed by the JCC.
The first meeting of the JCC working group on transport was held in Pakistan during January 9-11, 2014. In this meeting, the Pakistani group proposed the route, Sinkiang, Khunjrab, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sakkur, Karachi and Gawadar. This route was approved. Again, even after the APC headed by PM Nawaz Sharif and his promise to adjust all demands of the national leadership, not a single change to the route has been discussed by the JCC.
These are not empty claims; they are based on documented evidence. It is unbelievable how brazenly our government is duping all the other political parties. So far, the JCC has held five meetings – August 27, 2013 in Islamabad; February 9, 2014 in Beijing; August 27, 2014 in Beijing; March 15, 2015 in Beijing; and November 12, 2015 in Karachi. On May 28, 2015, the prime minister assured the nation that the ‘western route’ would be the first priority. In the last meeting of the JCC, no such notes were shared or approved. The minutes of the meeting are proof enough that our Chinese friends are quite unaware of any reservations on the CPEC. This means that the APC by PM Nawaz Sharif and the opening ceremony for the western route were nothing but a bad joke.
The consequences of this chain of lies are very serious. The Chinese are surprised about the reaction to the CPEC, since the issue has not been communicated to them at the proper forum of the JCC. Likewise, instead of ensuring transparency, the government has followed a policy of being less than truthful during press briefings, parliamentary sessions and public meetings. The government has said that it has nothing to do with energy projects along the CPEC, and that it is the Chinese investors who will make decisions.
The documents tell an entirely different story. The process is very representative: the Pakistani government presents its proposals and after their approval, the Chinese government comes up with a list of investment companies. As the last stage, the Pakistani government has to finalise the name of the company that will take up the project.
Look at the casual way in which such an important project has been dealt with by the government. Questions were raised over the six-way Lahore-Karachi motorway, which is to be completed under the CPEC. The government issued a clarification that the motorway had nothing to do with the CPEC, and was in fact actualisation of an old motorway project planned in the early 1990s. However, the minutes of the meeting held on January 9, 2014, clearly document the proposal presented by the Pakistani delegation to complete the Multan-Sukkur section of the Karachi-Lahore motorway as a CPEC project.
In the same meeting, the Orange Line Project for Lahore was presented for approval. Both projects were discussed and eventually approved in the meeting held on November 12, 2015 in Karachi. In the minutes of the meeting, presided over by Wang Xiaotao from China, and by Ahsan Iqbal from Pakistan, paragraph 20 says: “JCC noted both sides reach [a] consensus on the loan amount of US$1.626 billion for [the] Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project at the mutually agreed composite interest rate and initiated the relevant documents during the 5th JCC meeting.”
Just a glance at these documents makes it clear that projects like ‘free economic zones’, dual railway track, and energy initiatives etc have already been discussed and approved by the JCC. They also show that at no point did the Chinese government or investors impose their opinion on the Pakistani delegates. Ahsan Iqbal and co have presented the projects to the JCC. Our Chinese friends went over the projects and approved them. And now they are working day and night, silently, to complete these projects.
The Havelian-Islamabad, Sukkur-Multan, and Ratto Dero-Gwadar motorways are in progress. Now the government of Pakistan cannot propose or implement any change even if it wishes to. This is the real reason behind the frustration of the Chinese; and the untruths being presented by the government of Pakistan.
The ruling party should not forget that, due to its arrogance, nepotism and regional favouritism, it has irreversibly damaged a national project rightly dubbed as a game-changer. However, the ruling party is not the only guilty party in this. This nation will also not forgive Imran Khan, who was joking about the CPEC and the visit of Chinese president, while the government was busy approving the details on its own. Pervez Khattak also shares responsibility, as he was enjoying musical sit-ins and dancing on containers at the time. Now, after realising his mistake, he is issuing threats about the CPEC.
The Baloch nation will also not forgive all those nationalists who were not able to give any input or stop Ahsan Iqbal from deciding, single-handedly, the fate of their coming generations. The PPP holds the same responsibility for not raising a voice against efforts by the ruling party to convert this project of national integration into an issue of fragmentation. But the major fault still lies with the ruling party.
The writer works for Geo TV.
Email: saleem.safijanggroup.com.pk