Pakistan by China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has pledged to speed up construction and expand the multibillion-dollar project, citing its benefits for regional peace and security. Afghanistan Includes delivery.
On cooperation among regional organizations in New York United Nations Speaking during the debate in the Security Council of the world body Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan He said that the implementation of connectivity projects through Afghanistan to Central Asia will help a lot in promoting peace and security in Afghanistan and the region.
According to Radio Pakistan, Munir Akram lamented that the desire for regional supremacy by a larger neighbor has undermined SAARC’s capacity.
The Pakistani delegate emphasized on enhancing regional connectivity through adherence to UN principles. He highlighted that regional and inter-regional initiatives supported by the United Nations are important to promote greater cooperation and understanding in the areas of peace, security and economic development.
Pakistani officials say that Pakistan is restoring its confidence in China so that work on the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) can proceed.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview with the media on Sunday on his return from a visit to China in May this year that he is restoring China’s confidence in himself so that phase two of CPEC can be resumed.
Regarding the second phase, he said, “We are working with the Chinese counterparts to define the parameters of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in which work will be done in three sectors namely agriculture, industry and technology.”
Has work on CPEC stalled or slowed down?
According to official information, 840 km long motorways under CPEC have been completed so far.
Five road projects were completed in 10 years of CPEC. Up to 90 percent of the projects are complete while 820 km of optical fiber has been completed.
In 2017, ML-1, Maaida was signed under which the railway route was laid from Khunjarab to Gwadar. The length of ML1 is 1733 km.
According to the officials of the Ministry of Planning, the projects were also slowed down due to Corona. Karachi Circular Railway Project, Special Economic Zone, Rehabilitation of Industries are also part of FEZTO. Out of 46 billion dollars, 27.3 billion dollars have been spent on CPEC projects, while the estimated amount of 16 billion dollars above 46 billion dollars is for phase two projects.
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In the year 2013 during the PML-G regime, several projects were completed in the CPEC, in which projects like Ski Kanari Dam and Dasu Dam are in the final stages of completion.
CPEC was slowed down during Harik Insaaf’s regime, following which the then Planning Minister Asad Umar made a statement that ‘the work on CPEC has not slowed down.’
However, the projects like Ski Kanari Dam and Dasu Dam were not completed within the stipulated period.
Economic affairs expert and senior journalist Shehbaz Rana while talking to Independent Urdu said that ‘CPEC was diligently worked on from 2014 to 2018 and since 2018 the work on CPEC has slowed down and more so. There is currently no expansion.’
He said that ‘CPEC phase two may be the desire of Pakistan government, but there are not many signals from China on phase two. It is not mature for China to talk regarding phase two because the Chinese are already having problems with CPEC phase one, Pakistan has not fully implemented the agreements they made with them, until the CPEC phase. Until the issues of one are resolved, it will not be possible to proceed with phase two diligently.’
Shakil Ahmad, a journalist who monitors economic affairs, said that in CPEC CPEC phase one, work was done on the construction of road networks and bridges, but projects related to railways were slow. There are many reasons for this, the main reason being security concerns because there have been repeated attacks on Chinese citizens. Political instability is also a reason for the slow pace of the CPEC project. China is no longer openly investing in Pakistan the way China did between 2013-2017.
Attacks on Chinese citizens and China’s threats
This year, following the terrorist incident at Dasu Dam site of the CPEC project, Chinese experts working in Pakistan faced security concerns.
In this May 23, 2018 photo, Chinese engineers work on a coal power plant under CPEC projects near Islamkot in Sindh’s Tharparkar district (Photo: AFP)
In the month of March this year, five Chinese citizens and a Pakistani driver died in a suicide attack in Bisham, following which the Chinese embassy in Islamabad demanded a comprehensive investigation from the government of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level emergency meeting following the terrorist attack on Chinese nationals working on the Dasu Hydel Power Project in Bisham, in which the Army Chief also participated.
On this occasion, the Army Chief had said that we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that every foreign national, especially Chinese nationals who are contributing to the prosperity of Pakistan, remain safe in Pakistan. We will fight terrorism with force till the end.’
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2024-07-22 05:58:18
