Speakers say KP to benefit from CPEC with proper planning

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a conference on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor held here Tuesday said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would benefit from the project due to its location provided it positioned itself through proper planning.

The national seminar on “CPEC: Peace & Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” was organized by the China Study Centre, University of Peshawar at the university’s Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Auditorium. It was attended by scholars, educationists, faculty members and students.

The participants included Bacha Khan University, Charsadda’s present vice-chancellor Dr Saqlain Naqvi and former vice-chancellor Dr Fazal-ur-Rahim Marwat, and educationists Dr Naushad Khan and Mohammad Abid Khan.

Dr Zahid Anwar, director, China Study Centre, presented the address of welcome.

Dr Habib Ahmad, vice-chancellor, Islamia College, University, Peshwar and Dr Razia Sultana, vice-chancellor, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar made presentations on the topic in the opening session. Both highlighted the opportunities for Pakistan in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular from the projects being executed under CPEC.

In the first session, six presentations were made. The speakers included Zamir Awan from NUST Islamabad, Amir Rana of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS) in Islamabad, Islamic International University’s Dr Col (R) Mohammad Khan, Nazeer Ahmad from Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Dr Amir Khan from the Centre of Excellence-CPEC, Islamabad. They spoke on different aspects of CPEC. Some of them shared their experiences interacting with Chinese companies and officials.

Senior journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai chaired the session. He pointed out that China is focusing on developing the under-developed western China through CPEC and other projects to overcome the sense of deprivation there. He added that Pakistan should learn from China and focus attention on under-developed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces and FATA so that the people benefit from projects like CPEC and become integrated in the federation of Pakistan. He felt this would also help Pakistan overcome political problems concerning share of the smaller provinces in the country’s resources.

The last session was chaired by Dr Tahir Shah, vice-chancellor, FATA University. Among the speakers were Dr Raza Rahman Qazi, who is head of the current affairs section of Pakistan Television, Peshawar Centre, and Dr Suhail Ahmad from the Agriculture University, Peshawar.