Awaiting reply: Centre seeks time over K-P’s letter on CPEC

NGO creating misunderstanding regarding corridor: Ahsan Iqbal

PESHAWAR: As the deadline for the Centre to reply to the K-P government’s letter on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor expired on December 21, the former has asked for an extension. The federal government asked Chief Minister Pervez Khattak for more time to clarify its position and expressed its dissatisfaction over the letter. The Centre said the matter was written due to a “misunderstanding created by an NGO”.

In a letter addressed to the Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on December 14, Khattak sent a list of 13 demands. A copy of the letter, available with The Express Tribune, revealed the provincial government’s reservations on alleged “reneging on the assurance given by the prime minister” and dissatisfaction with all developments after the all-parties conference (APC) on the CPEC at the end of May 2015.

The letter also demanded raising the issues at the Council of Common Interest and stated if the minister for planning and development failed to reply within a week, all apprehensions of the K-P government would be considered correct, thus “necessitating suitable actions to safeguard the interests of the province.” Speaking to The Express Tribune through an email from Saudi Arabia, Iqbal, who was on Umra, said he requested Khattak for more time to clarify the points as most of them were based on a presentation by an NGO.

“I invited all parliamentary party leaders of K-P to the Planning Commission who brought the NGO along and all of us were surprised to see how they were misleading legislators with concocted stories,” Iqbal wrote. The minister said he would soon give a briefing at Peshawar Press Club to the K-P leadership and explain that most points covered in the CM’s letter were based on misunderstandings on the nature of CPEC. “It is a strategic national project which will not only benefit all regions of Pakistan, but also Afghanistan and Central Asia,” the minister concluded.

An official, who helped draft the letter, told The Express Tribune the official correspondence with the Centre showed there was no transparency. “The western route is more feasible than the eastern one and if our claim is wrong, then why have the details of the project not been shared with us or made public?” he asked.

Content of the letter

The 13 demands related to CPEC put forward by K-P included details of budget allocations and the share of federating units in the $48 billion at the current stage of the project, a copy of the monographic study on roads and the budget allocated for the upgrading of transmission lines. There were also demands related to the extension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Peshawar, a guarantee that trade zones will be established through equal distribution and project details, details of energy projects worth Rs3,379 billion along with CPEC and a written confirmation that the metro system and eastern alignment is a project funded by the government of Punjab. The K-P government also sought details of railway tracks and who decided the direction of their current route.

In addition, the provincial administration demanded a consolidated map of the oil and gas pipeline under the project, the route of the proposed fiber optics cable, the formation of a panel of experts with representation from all provinces and a copy of the signed agreement between China and the federal government.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2015.