Mohammad Jamil
Khaled Ahmed Consulting Editor of Newsweek Pakistan wrote an article titled ‘Corridor of Uncertainty’ in Indian Express of 31st December 2016. He stated: “The only big thing going for an isolated Pakistan is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Unable to tackle its internal security problems – for which it now wrongly blames India – it prefers focusing on the good times the world thinks the Chinese investment of $46 billion will bring.” Many anti-Pakistan lobbies have been at work to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as they know that with the completion of its projects Pakistan will usher into an era of progress and prosperity. Many detractors of Pakistan, pseudo-intellectuals and liberals wittingly or unwittingly create misconceptions about the CPEC. While others have the penchant for self-flagellation; they believe that personnel of Indian, Afghanistan and American secret agencies are saints but their counterparts in Pakistan are sinners.
Khalid Ahmed is a renowned writer who has command over the language; and his diction and polemics are too well known. However, the article under reference is badly written having incoherent content, which is also self-contradictory. One would not know why he chose to refer to the then US defence secretary nominee, Senator Chuck Hagel’s view in a talk on Afghanistan at the Cameron University in Oklahoma in 2011who had said: “India has been using Afghanistan as a second front against Pakistan. It has, over the years, financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border.” Though he wanted to use for advancing argument against Pakistan, but by quoting Chuck Hagel he has in fact strengthened Pakistan’s case and exposed Indian shenanigans. In fact, by quoting chuck Hagel he has brought down the very edifice on which he was basing his write-up i.e. to defame Pakistan.
“For the time being the CPEC, far from being one of the greatest war-preventing trade arteries in the world, might unleash a new war, based on India’s perception that it contains Gwadar port in Pakistan as a military outpost of China targeting India,” In fact, it was an effort to divert the attention from the devious plan to contain China; however he and those for whom he holds brief stand completely exposed. The fact remains that CPEC will open new vistas of development as a result of which the national economy will grow fast, lead to creation of new job opportunities, poverty reduction, and development of transportation sector and boost industrial growth. CPEC is a comprehensive package of cooperative initiatives and projects, which covers key areas including connectivity, information network infrastructure, energy cooperation, industries and industrial parks, agricultural development and poverty alleviation etc.
Energy sector has been assigned top priority to help Pakistan overcome energy shortages in order to achieve higher growth rates for speedy development. The corridor projects initially envisaged $34.5 billion investment in energy sector and around $11.5 billion in infrastructure sector. Both countries have finalized plans to add 10,400 MWs of electricity capacity of energy generation projects spread all across the country. Some energy projects are expected to be completed by the year 2017/18, and other 6,645 MWs of projects for energy are on the actively promoted list. All energy projects will be on commercial basis in investment mode. However, Gwadar Port Project is the centerpiece of Pak-China Strategic Partnership with its strategic location and potential for becoming the future economic and energy hub. The projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will transform it into one of the world’s leading port cities having top-class commercial and tourist facilities, integrated infrastructure and investment opportunities.
Balochistan, the resource-rich province of Pakistan, is very much in rivaling eyes, and some regional powers as well as imperialistic powers intend to expand their influence in the region to gain control of minerals and other economic resources. On development of Gwadar Port and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), some writers and intellectuals have different opinion. They resort to polemics to prove their point and advance the views of the dissident Baloch sardars, India and the US. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the centre of interest for China, Pakistan and, naturally the world, as all perceive it according to the strategic and economic advantages and disadvantages it holds for them. It should be borne in mind that China’s rise as a super power is unstoppable; and Pakistan stands to gain from the experience of China’s leap forward.
Pakistan is confronted with multifaceted challenges at internal and external levels. This is the time to forge unity in the ranks of the nation. Politicians should realize the gravity of the situation; they should abandon the politics of power and pelf, and shun turf wars. The ruling and opposition parties should focus on improving economic conditions so that the nation could get rid of the dependency syndrome. Measures should be taken to ensure socio-economic justice, strengthen the political system and institutions, eradicate corruption, provide timely justice, generate employment opportunities, seek consensus-based political solutions, and resolve ethnic, sectarian and religious fault lines. Anti-Pakistan forces, internal and external, stand united today to destabilize the country; India, the US and Israel have coalesced to weaken and destabilize Pakistan. All and sundry should understand that in the event any harm is caused to Pakistan, they would all stand to suffer, and posterity would not forgive them.
