Insight
At this critical juncture of history, Pakistan has an opportunity in the shape of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to uplift its economy from lower income group into middle and finally higher income brackets within a short span of time- next one to two decades.
There can be a wish in speeches of leaders for creating a win-win situation for both the sides but in any opportunity there are some winners and some are losers.
It is a universal and accepted principle that whoever has done homework properly their chances of winning become brighter, and the same applies to losers who fail to perform in the desirable manner.
Chinese leadership envisioned One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) and kick-started Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) under which they planned construction of six corridors in different regions of Africa, Europe, and Asia for connecting 65 countries with an investment of $900 billion.
Shahid Rasheed, executive director, Planning Commission, CPEC Centre for Excellence, said the corridor was a flagship project of the BRI undertaken by the Chinese side. It would be replicated as a success story in case of other corridors envisioned by the Chinese leadership. “CPEC provided us historic opportunity, and both sides could not afford its failure,” he added.
As matter of fact, Pakistan’s preparations for creating the right kind of synergies for reaping the benefits of the CPEC were not up to the mark, which was proved after witnessing the ground realities at the gateway of the corridor from the Pakistani side.
This scribe visited Gilgit and Khunjerab via the beautiful road constructed by the Chinese along with officials of the Planning Commission, Pakistan Customs, and professors and researchers of Karakorum International University (KIU) and Iqra University Islamabad. It was a 560 kilometres journey to see the Sost dry port in the northern part of the country. The Chinese government has provided state of the art facilities for Customs and immigration, as well as border security forces.
Chinese authorities have installed latest scanners, built luxurious offices and residential facilities and even massage chairs for providing comfort to their staff stationed at one of the difficult bordering site.
The biggest worrisome factor from the Pakistani perspective was witnessed in the form of one-way transportation of goods.
In a day, around 20 containers carrying goods from China were imported via the road between China and Pakistan from Gilgit to Khunjerab, whereas not a single container was witnessed travelling from the Pakistani side to the Chinese border.
Nagar Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mohammad Ali Quaid said China had placed tariff and non-tariff barriers for discouraging exports from the Pakistani side. He said he had never witnessed this in any other country where immigration staff started checking and opening containers. “It was the responsibility of the Customs staff.”
He alleged that the behaviour of the Chinese staff at Khunjerab border point was not up to the mark, and they even misbehaved with Pakistani businessmen. He also demanded to end the two holidays in the week - Saturday and Sunday - as the customs authorities on both sides stopped clearing goods during these two days.
However, Hassan Daud, deputy project director for CPEC at Planning Commission, who is a passionate supporter of this project, argued that the CPEC had no role to play in the rising trade and current account deficit of the country. There could be some other factors involved in it, he said, and added, “The China-Pakistan corridor was a project for our coming generations.”
It can be witnessed while travelling on the road that it is insufficient to handle 500 containers every day. The Karakorum Highway from Khunjerab and Gilgit to Islamabad is not wide enough to handle a surge in the movement of 20 containers/day to 500 containers/day.
Pakistan had ratified the TIR Convention for allowing transportation of goods to regional states, including China and Central Asian Republics as well as Afghanistan. This has prompted the Customs authorities to expect an annual surge in the clearance of containers up to 5,000/year from the existing clearance in the range of 2,000 to 2,500 through the Sost dry port.
Once the CPEC is running at full swing, the flow of containers will further go up and it will cause congestion on the existing road network.
Currently, there is no match between the facilities provided by the Chinese with the ones provided by the Pakistani side at the gateway of the CPEC.
The corridor is meant to ensure connectivity, and the biggest problem in all this is the internet connectivity due to the non-availability of optical fibre line in Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The low and slow speed internet connectivity also means that not only trade flow, but tourist facilities cannot be catered to the fullest. The Special Communication Organization (SCO) is constructing its facility at zero point near Khunjerab for laying down optical fibre line in the whole area. There should be no delay in this regard, if Pakistan wants to benefit from the situation.
The Sost dry port stops its operation for four months from December to end March due to severe winter conditions. There is need to install central heating systems so the border operations can continue even during cold.
Pakistan Customs also needs to upgrade and update its facilities, as the existing ones are insufficient to tackle such gigantic surge in trade flows that is expected in the months and years ahead. For now, the government has made two development projects, including construction of Customs house at Sost and transit facilities a part of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) minister for education Ibrahim Sanai during a seminar on CPEC at Karakorum International University (KIU) last week highlighted another problem area “cultural differences”. He said it would be one of the biggest challenges for both China and Pakistan.
Concerns also exist among the local residents and researchers of Gilgit-Baltistan in terms of what benefits the project holds for them, as tourism and agriculture will be boosted, but there will be environmental degradation, which is a major risk.
The need of the hour is to devise a master plan to mitigate the risks that are emerging at the gateway of the China-Pakistan corridor – in Gilgit and Khunjerab, as well as adjacent areas. There must be a dedicated road network to handle traffic flows. The construction of state of the art facilities for Customs, immigration, and border security forces are also needed.
Time is short and the list is long. So, instead of portraying only the good things and singing the all is well mantra, there is need for a well thought out strategy and its timely execution of the CPEC would otherwise be another lost opportunity. Pakistan cannot afford to become a loser in this game, but only wishes cannot help to stand up in the list of winners.
The writer is a staff member