Afghanistan expresses desire to become part of CPEC

Anything that is good for Pakistan will be good for the entire region, Dr Omar Zakhilwal says

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a great economic development project and Afghanistan has expressed desire to become a part of it.

"CPEC is a great project that is equally relevant to Afghanistan, like Pakistan," Afghanistan's Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Omar Zakhilwal said during an interview, according to Radio Pakistan.



"Anything that is good for Pakistan will be good for the entire region," the envoy said while adding that by becoming a part of the project, Afghanistan can recover the damages it has suffered during its decades long war.

The United States has spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan to cushion the sinking ship of the landlocked country’s economy, but there are no visible signs of improvement.

An immediate workable solution for Afghanistan to boost its economy is forging better relations with Pakistan. Instead Kabul has resorted to blame game, holding Pakistan responsible for almost all recent terrorist attacks in its territory.



According to a report published by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), created by the US Congress for an independent oversight of Afghan reconstruction projects, multibillion-dollar American investment in Afghan economy was spent uselessly and not followed by any significant results as expected by the international society and the Afghan people.

Though the US poured $113 billion into the Afghan economy from 2002 to 2015, the socio-economic situation in the country showed no signs of improvement and continued to worsen, it said.



From a total of 44 projects sponsored by the US, only 20 were completed and received by Afghan officials. The report cited different problems for the failure including illicit and unprofessional planning of the programmes and baseless projects that had nothing to do with restoration of the Afghan economy, for instance, the Taliban reintegration support fund.