The CPEC controversy

There are no two opinions about the fact that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a nationally owned mega-development initiative regarded as a game changer for Pakistan and the region. Unfortunately, some political elements and vested interests continue to make it controversial, notwithstanding the fact that the government has held a number of APCs on it to take the political leadership into confidence and address their reservations and misconceptions about it.

The latest government initiative was the CPEC summit held in Islamabad on August 28, attended by the chief ministers of all the provinces including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The participants expressed their satisfaction on the implementation of the CPEC and its beneficial impact on all four provinces.

To begin with, the ANP convened an APC over the change of original western route of CPEC, saying that the change would undermine the interests of the Baloch and the Pakhtuns. Later the PTI, particularly the chief minister of KP generated a new controversy over the prioritisation of the construction of the eastern route of the corridor and a campaign was unleashed regarding these misgivings about the mega-initiative. The KP CM even threatened to withdraw cooperation in acquisition land for the CPEC projects.

After the CPEC summit there was a short lull in propaganda against the CPEC but again a campaign seems to have been unfurled against it. The controversy over the western route has been re-launched. Some elements are also engaged in fomenting doubts about the impact of the CPEC on our domestic industry and exports. It is being stressed that the relocation of Chinese industrial units in the economic zones to be developed under the CPEC in Pakistan would affect our local industry as well as our exports, due to the fact that the goods produced by the Chinese industrial units would be marketed locally as well as in the international markets where Pakistan also sells its products.

Finance Minister Ishaq has lashed out at those who are making the CPEC controversial. He has particularly criticised stories that reinforce the controversy without verifying the facts. There were those who claimed that the western route was not even discussed in the 5th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC). The relevant portion of the minutes of the JCC meeting corroborate the discussion on the western route. Dar has also revealed that the next meeting of the committee would be convened in November, preceded by meetings of the Joint Working Group – and he has invited the ANP leadership to have a meeting with him so that their reservations are removed. 

The fact is that the western route is very much part of the CPEC and the construction of the route is being given top priority by the government. No change has been made in the already identified course that the route has to follow. The broader outline of the western route as identified by and agreed between Pakistan and China is: Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Nag, Basima, Sorab, Qalat, Quetta, Qilla Saifullah, Zhob, D I Khan before leading towards Islamabad. The western route has been divided into different sections which include the Hakla-DI Khan section comprising 285 kilometres, DI Khan-Mughal Kot spanning 124 kms, Mughal Kot-Zhob with a length of 81 kms, Zhob-Quetta consisting of 331 kms, Quetta-Sorab 211 kms, Sorab-Hoshab traversing 449 kms and Hoshab-Turbat-Gwadar 193 kms.

It is pertinent to point out that the road between Gwadar and Hoshab has already been completed, inaugurated by the prime minister on February 3, 2016.  The PM also laid the foundation stone for the up-gradation of the Zhob-Mughal Kot section on December 30, 2015.  The upgrading work on the Zhob-Quetta section has already been completed, whereas work on the Sorab-Hoshab section is in full swing. Work on the Burhan-DI Khan highway has also been started. Similarly, the Havelian- Hazara motorway which is part of the western route that will link Havelian with Burhan is also in progress and will be completed by the end of 2016. These are verifiable realities.

It would perhaps be pertinent to point out that the infrastructure projects under the CPEC have a timeline of 2030 for their completion and work on them will be undertaken in phases. In the western route, the section in Balochistan is being given priority and rightly so, as the other routes will also eventually link up with this section. However, work on the western route portion in KP is also proceeding simultaneously.

Those trying to create doubts about the CPEC affecting Pakistani industry and its exports are probably relying on their own contrived perceptions rather than studying the ground realities. China and Pakistan have their own markets for their products and their exports are not identical enough to create the sort of situation that is being perceived by the detractors of the the CPEC. They are conveniently neglecting the downstream industrial units that will be set up in Pakistan as a result of the new developments under the CPEC, with the tremendous potential to expand the industrial sector in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was right on mark to say that some of the politicians and enemies of the country were finding it hard to digest the CPEC. India is against the CPEC and wants to undermine it by all means. Reportedly, a special wing has been created in RAW to sabotage the project and create an ambience of despondency among the masses, scaring away potential investors from Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raised the issue with Chinese leaders, contending that the corridor would pass through disputed territory.

Pakistan is at a cross-roads and confronted with formidable challenges. It is indeed a defining moment for the country and its future will surely depend on decisions based on rationality and rooted in the best national interest, with unqualified national ownership. Nobody in their right mind would begrudge the prerogative of the politicians and political parties to have different views on issues of national importance – provided they are expressed in a proper way and at the appropriate forums.

But agitating on non-issues is not the right way. Such behaviour will not only undermine the credibility of the architects of such controversies but also harm the national interest. Therefore, they need to understand the sensitivities involved with regard to our relations with China and our own economic future as a state. Politics at the cost of national interests needs to be avoided.

The writer is a freelance contributor. Email: ashpak10@gmail.com