CPEC, Gwadar Port to be built at all costs: COAS

RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Saturday said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar Port would be built and developed as one of the most strategic deep sea ports in the region at all costs.
During his visit to Panjgur and Turbat in Balochistan, the army chief said, “We are acutely aware of our rivals’ campaign against the Corridor project” and said that the armed forces were ready to pay any price to turn the long cherished dream into reality.
The COAS inspected a part of the under construction road network, part of the CPEC, made by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), according to ISPR.
General Raheel appreciated the FWO for its untiring efforts in the construction of such a vast road network across the length and breadth of Balochistan against all odds at such an amazing pace and paid rich tributes to the FWO soldiers for sacrificing their lives and limbs for this national project.
Emphasising the importance of the CPEC, he said that the construction of these roads would link Gwadar Port to the rest of the country at Chaman and the Indus Highway to yield the envisioned dividends of the port and Corridor project to transform the lives of the people and bring prosperity to the region.
During the briefing, the COAS was apprised that as many as 11 units of the FWO have been employed in Balochistan for the construction of an 870-kilometre long stretch of roads at five different locations simultaneously, out of which 502 kilometres of roads have already been completed in less than one and half year on the special directives of the COAS.
While talking to notables of the area, he paid rich tributes to the proud and valiant people of Balochistan and thanked them for their unconditional cooperation and support for these projects, assuring them that they would be best served by these projects.
The COAS said that the potential of Balochistan as a regional hub for trade in goods and energy would only be realised with the whole nation’s approach for its security and development.
General Raheel emphasised that a secure and peaceful environment was a must to push all the planned development work. He lauded the law enforcement agencies for bringing a noticeable change in the overall security situation of the province.
He specially commended the FC and police for the recently conducted successful operations against some foreign funded terrorists who were involved in the disruption of law and order in the province. General Raheel said the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb was not only an operation but a concept for a terror-free Pakistan.
“It would continue to target all militants without any discrimination and hunt down terrorists anywhere across the country to achieve the end objectives,” he added.