ICST urges increase in fund allocations for CPEC in budget

Islamabad: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Thursday said CPEC is one of the biggest achievements of the government and allocation of Rs180 billion in the federal budget should be revised upward so that the project could be completed without any delay.

Emerging challenges and conspiracies of the enemy countries to destabilised Pakistan and derail China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) demand hefty increase in the defence budget which has been increased by only seven percent, it said.

Gwadar will see completion of 31 projects in this year therefore government should take all necessary precautions to make it a success, said ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.In a statement issued here today, he said that July-April imports have touched mark of $37.8 dollars in which the machinery imported for economic corridor holds good share which is encouraging.

He said that all the efforts in the backdrop of CPEC are encouraging but it is now going down well with some nations therefore defence allocation and steps to safeguard life and property of Chinese should be revisited.

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that CPEC is an import part of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Project which is connecting 68 countries around globe.Some countries are opposing this project but their designs will never succeed as the process of development is irreversible while China is a great economic and military power, he observed. He said that China is investing $150 billion on OBOR project and so far it has invested over one trillion dollars and there is no power on earth which can force her to abandon this project.The business leader said that CPEC and OBOR are realities and it would be in fitness of things for all the nations to join it for rapid economic and social development.