Game changer: Army chief vows to turn economic corridor into reality

Gen Raheel says the designs of the country’s enemies will be foiled at all costs

RAWALPINDI:

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif vowed on Saturday to torpedo the campaign run by the country’s enemies against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and help get the project off the ground.

“We are acutely aware of our rivals’ campaign against the corridor project and vow that the armed forces are ready to pay any price to turn this long cherished dream into reality,” a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations quoted General Raheel as saying. The army chief was visiting Balochistan’s Panjgur and Turbat districts, where he inspected a portion of a road network built as part of the CPEC by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).



Emphasising the importance of the CPEC, the army chief said construction of these roads would link Gwadar port with the rest of the country at Chaman and the Indus Highway.

“[This will] yield the real envisioned dividend of the port and the corridor project to transform the lives of people and bring prosperity to the region,” he said, adding that the CPEC and Gwadar port would be built and developed as one of the most strategic deep sea ports in the region.

While talking to notables of the area, General Raheel paid rich tribute to ‘the proud and valiant’ people of Balochistan and thanked them for their unconditional cooperation and support for these projects. He also assured them that they would be best served by these projects.

“The potential of Balochistan as a regional hub for trade in goods and energy will only be realised with a whole of nation approach for its security and development,” he said.

General Raheel emphasised that a secure and peaceful environment was a must to push all the planned development work. He lauded the law enforcement agencies for bringing a noticeable change in the overall security situation of the province.



He said Operation Zarb-e-Azb was not only an offensive but a concept for a terror-free Pakistan. “It will continue to target all militants without any discrimination and hunt down terrorists anywhere across the country to achieve the end objective,” he said.

Earlier, the army chief was briefed about the ongoing construction work in which 11 units of the FWO have been employed for building a 870-kilometre-long stretch of road at five different locations simultaneously.

Out of this long stretch, some 502km of roads have already been completed in less than one and a half year on the army chief’s special directives.

General Raheel appreciated the FWO for their ‘untiring efforts’ in constructing such a vast road network across the length and breadth of Balochistan ‘against all odds at such an amazing pace’. He paid rich tribute to the FWO soldiers for sacrificing their lives while undertaking this national project.

The army chief also commended the Frontier Corps Balochistan and police for conducting successful operations against some foreign-funded terrorists, “who were involved in the disruption of law and order in the province,” said the statement.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.