Speakers try to clear confusions about CPEC

According to KU VC, commitment and consistency are keys to development

KARACHI: In an attempt to clear the confusions and misconceptions among students about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a seminar was organised by the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization, Karachi University (KU).

The seminar, titled 'Sindh at the Crossroad of Success through CPEC', reflected on different aspects of CPEC. "I believe that preaching alone can never change a country,” said KU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan. “You have to change objective conditions as well."

He was addressing a gathering comprising students, teachers and Chinese delegates. He reflected on the importance of long-term change. "Our federal and provincial bureaucracy believes that a few grants will bring about a sudden change,” he said. “On the contrary, commitment and consistency is the actual key to development."



Giving a presentation on CPEC, former federal secretary Fazalullah Qureshi talked about the railway and sea routes covered by the megaproject and their influence on the development and improvement along these routes.

Qureshi spoke in detail about various power and transport infrastructure projects, including 10 transport projects, of which only two lie in Sindh. "Sindh is a like a surrogate mother, producing power from Thar coal and Bin Qasim, which is being utilised by Punjab," he said while elaborating on the misery experienced by Sindh.

He further talked about the scarcity of good quality water for the people of a province that is producing 70% of the total revenue for Pakistan.



The director-general of Sindh Board of Investment, Dr Tanveer Ahmed Qureshi, shared statistics in his presentation. According to him, on the chart of quality governance, Pakistan ranks 138 out of a total of 189 countries while China is at 84, followed by India at 130. He further said that it took 14,000 kilometres for China to reach Gwadar via Indonesia through the route of Shanghai. This has now been reduced to just 3,200 kilometres via Kashgar.

"Pakistan will benefit from investing in transport, energy and industrial sector," he said. He added that CPEC will not only act as a concrete game changer – it will bring opportunities for the common people that they can grab and change the game themselves.

"Worship the ocean that is connecting us with the world," said political analyst Javed Qazi, quoting Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in his opening sentences. In his speech, Qazi focused on poverty and feudalism in Sindh.



The dean of faculty of social sciences of KU, Prof Dr Muhammad Ahmed Qadri, also spoke on the occasion, terming CPEC the ‘fate changer’ for Pakistanis. “CPEC has the attention of the whole international community,” he said.

CPEC will serve humanity and could create relations between China and Pakistan, he said, adding that it will be a beneficial factor in eliminating poverty from Pakistan. Transfer of technology from China will enable Pakistan to deal with modern-day challenges, said Dr Qadri.