Opposition wants govt to share details of CPEC

ISLAMABAD: The opposition parties have asked the government to refrain from making another controversy like “Kalabagh dam” over much hyped $46 billion investment on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that the route of multibillion dollars project should be explained with minute details.
On the demand of opposition parties, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has promised with PTI to bring this issue in the notice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and will arrange a detailed briefing for political parties within next 10 days.
“The government has left us with no other option but to oppose this important investment because no one has so far shared details with us at any forum,” PTI’s central leader Asad Umar said while talking to The News here on Saturday.
He said that he was asking the government not to make CPEC another Kalabagh dam because when the government would not unveil its details, rumors would trigger in case of such a huge investment.
When asked about demands of PTI on the CPEC in the aftermath of approval of resolution by the KP assembly on this issue, Asad Umar said that the government should share exact details of the whole CPEC project including its route, areas where industrial estates would be established and bifurcation of projects location province wise should also be shared with all political parties.
He said that prior to Chinese President visit to Islamabad, the Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal had briefed political parties on the CPEC projects but they did not invite PTI for this meeting.
Although, he said that the planning minister claimed that they had invited someone from PTI but he himself did not know who was given invitation from our party.
Even allies of the government, he said, were not satisfied with the information shared by the planning minister on the CPEC projects and mentioned Pakhtunkhawa Mili Awami Party (PkMP) Mahmood Akhan Achkzai had complained about lack of information on the CPEC projects during the meeting convened by former President Asif Ali Zardari when Ahsan Iqbal was present in the meeting couple of days back. He said that now Ishaq Dar had promised with us to convene another briefing on this issue within next 10 to 15 days in order to take us into confidence.
ANP central leader Haji Adeel when contacted, said on Saturday that the government changed the route of CPEC for ignoring neglected areas of KP, Balochistan and Fata with the intention to maximise benefits for the largest province (Punjab). The cheaper route from western side was being replaced with long and expensive route under CPEC, which will not be allowed, he added.
He was of the view that initially the construction of railway line was also part of the plan but now it was dropped and efforts were underway to change its route as well.
Under the new route of CPEC, he said that the government was making efforts to link Havalian to Islamabad-Lahore Motorway and then connect to Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and enter Balochistan.
“The share of KP, Balochistan and Fata should be shared with us out of total proposed portfolio of $46 billion from Chinese investment,” he said and added that there was need to finalise this deal in transparent manner otherwise controversies would create unwarranted
situation.