APC expresses reservations about CPEC

PM asked to address Balochistan’s reservations over project;  Ahsan says $7.1 bn energy projects to be completed in Balochistan; no discrimination was done with any province; Achakzai says project can’t succeed unless there is justice, JI seeks inclusion of Malakand in project; Fazl urges PM to take up Balochistan, Gwadar issues; China ready to ensure early completion of corridor

ISLAMABAD: The All Parties Conference (APC), hosted here by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal Group (BNP-M), on Sunday expressed reservations about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and asked Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to fulfill his promises. The government, however, says no discrimination was done with any province.

The conference was addressed by the BNP-Mengal chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Deputy Chairman Senate and JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, PPP's senior leader Farhatullah Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch, PML-N leader Raja Zafarul Haq, JUI-F’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Senator Sirajul Haq, PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain, former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudhry, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Ahmed and others.

The speakers emphasized timely completion of CPEC routes and urged the government to address Balochistan’s reservations about the corridor.

Speaking on the occasion, PkMAP leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai said the project could not succeed without justice and peace in Pakistan. He said the government had no option but to do justice to run the country’s affairs successfully adding that injustice bred hatred, becoming the main cause of conflicts leading to wars.

Achakzai warned that Pakistan was in a difficult situation and had very limited time to get out. He said the US, India and Iran had collaborated to build the Chabahar port and its lights could be seen from the Gwadar Port.

Fazlur Rehman urged the prime minister to take up the issues of Balochistan and Gwadar. He said Nawaz Sharif himself had expressed his desire to hold an APC on Balochistan. 

Raja Zafarul Haq said a delegation headed by Sardar Akhtar Mengal will meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said the Western route of the CPEC will be built first. Haq said nobody in the APC said the project was not in the interest of Pakistan.

Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said energy projects worth over $25 billion will be completed under the project. He said energy projects worth $7.1 billion will be completed in Balochistan under the project. Besides, energy projects worth $6.9 billion will be completed in the Punjab and $11.5 billion in Sindh.

Senator Jahanzeb Jamaldini briefed the conference on the importance of Gwadar and natural resources of Balochistan.

Senator Sirajul Haq urged the federal government not to make the project controversial by limiting it to any specific area or specific people.

Addressing a press conference after an APC on the CPEC project at Chakdara, he said the Malakand Division had equal rights to be included in the project because of its strategic location.

Siraj said a declaration adopted at the APC pointed out that the Malakand Division provided the best route for the CPEC as it was short and the easiest way and would also be helpful for Afghanistan and the Central Asian States. It demanded that this route should be considered seriously. It also called for completing the Lowari Tunnel on a war footing and for including the Malakand Division in the PSDP.

Siraj said they did not want to make the project controversial in view of its immense importance for national development but would try to adopt other options for deciding the irritants through mutual understanding. He said the Malakand Division had rich forests but due to lack of roads, the forests were being used by the local people for fuel.

The APC called for separate women universities in Malakand to raise female literacy because of the traditions of the area.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy on Sunday said CPEC was a consensus project of the two countries having popular support of the two peoples. In a statement, the embassy spokesperson said China hoped relevant parties in Pakistan will create favourable conditions for completion of the project. The spokesman said China was ready to cooperate closely with Pakistan for an early implementation of the mega project. He said the project will unleash development activities in Pakistan for the benefit of its people.