Corridor to success

The controversy over the planned China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is over. A historic APC convened by the prime minister on Friday successfully resolved all the doubts that have existed so far over the building of the route that would link Gwadar and the south of Pakistan with Kashgar in north-western China. The APC that was attended by all major parties, including the PTI, the PPP, the ANP, the JI and other groups is especially significant given the strong voices being raised against the plan, chiefly from the PTI, with allegations coming in that the route had been altered to benefit Punjab and Sindh to a greater extent than the two smaller western provinces. For now, at least, this discord appears to have been successfully cleared up. The APC, at which Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was also present, was informed there had been in fact no change in route and that once work on the $46 billion project got under way, the focus would be on constructing the western portions of the route first. This would link towns in Balochistan with Gwadar as well as some of those lying in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa like Dera Ismail Khan and others in Punjab like Mianwali. It was also agreed that a working committee would be set up, with representatives from all parties to determine where ports and development parks would be built. This agreement should end the hail of criticism we have recently been witnessing over the CPEC – a project that, as the prime minister emphasised, could change the future of Pakistan by opening up for it new economic and strategic avenues.
The government has acted wisely in achieving this consensus on what was becoming a rather slippery scramble down a dangerous slope. What is crucial is that transparency in all matters concerning the building of the CPEC is maintained. Nothing must be kept from the public or from opposition parties. At present, a welcome consensus seems to have been reached over the construction of the corridor. But well before it is finished, benefits from the project should begin to come in, with Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal emphasising that these would be divided between all the provinces with the largest number of energy projects going to Sindh. The equitable distribution of benefits between provinces is important. But it is also important that political parties not use the CPEC as a peg on which to hang up all kinds of unfounded accusations. Doing so can only damage the interests of the country and hurt us all as a nation.