At a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Communication, the lawmakers expressed their dismay that smaller provinces are being deprived of the benefit of this project by diverting the route to Sindh and Punjab, rather than passing it through K-P and Balochistan.
“The people in Balochistan already feel a sense of deprivation, and it will further deepen if the route of the ECP does not pass through their main cities to connect Gwadar Port with China,” said Senator Hamayun Mandokhel at the Committee meeting.
Senator Kamil Ali Agha echoed the sentiments of Mandokhel, and said that decisions that further fuel these adverse sentiments should not be taken.
The committee’s chairman, Senator Daud Khan Achakzai, said that economic activities owe to the Gwadar Port, but it seems that the people of Balochistan will not get the benefits.
Kamil Ali Agha of PML-Q posed the question as to why the government was signing MoUs in advance with Chinese firms, whereas the correct modus operandi would be that the tender is floated for open competition. He criticized the government, saying that every project is given either to Qatar or China without keeping in view the national interest.
The senators were all of the opinion that previously, the ECP’s route was supposed to pass through DG Khan in K-P to Zhob and then Quetta in Balochistan, but it was diverted and the new proposed routes mostly bypass these two provinces.
According to the working paper, the total length of the corridor route is 2,681 km from Khunjrab to Gwadar. Under the new plan, the route will be Khunjrab-Raikot-Thako-Mansehra-Abbottabad-Havelian-Haripur-Islamabad-Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad-Khanewal-Multan-Sukhur-Shikarpur-Ratodero-Khuzdar and then to Gwadar.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.
COMMENTS (8)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@ASIM: Brother check the earlier route and the proposed pne. It has increased the cost of the project manifolds whilst the distance has also been increased tremendously, vividly you can see the plan being diverted to include areas from punjab and sindh. To me its a very serious issue and can possibly increase the bitterness and thaw in relations b/w small provinces and punjab. It has a solid backgroung and history. NFC and Wapda debt on federal government is also an issue beforehand. Gawadar project inefficient handling by central and even its allies in province has made it even worse. If PML-N wants to break away this country jst like bangladesh then they should openly declare this. No need to play hide and seek game with us. We say "no more of it please!"
Common Baloch and Pashtun brothers! if it goes through D.G khan or Quetta you know our enemies can wreck havoc through "funded militants" and they have already started spewing propaganda against this giant investment including india. we have to get this completed and settled, if US pulls out of Afg than we know what is coming ahead of us. Common E.T, our enemies have isolated us its China and Saudi Arabia that is standing with us and letting us some Oxygen.
Punjab is trying to swallow everything. On one hand the Punjab dominated governments have created security issues in these areas and on the other it is keeping them deprived of ecnomic development. The more we think of Pakistan as our conuntery the more it feels like its only serving mainly Punjab.
It seems that Hazara division is not in KP according to this logic.? Secondly Pak-China corridor is not meant to provide one road to China and we will just set up hotels for truck drives alongside the road. It should serve a bigger purpose in my view. It should connect the Industrial and Agriculture hubs of Pakistan to China and Gwadar as well. The Pakistan-China Corridor should include all big cities of Pakistan. In my view Lahore, Taxila, Pindi, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Hyderabad, Karachi and Sialkot that provides the major chunk for Industrial exports should be connected to this corridor.
Our main aim is to provide route to China while at the same time having an edge on transportation for our companiesl. In the future our companies have to compete with Chinese might as well.
Pakistan should protect its interest firsts. The nationalistic parties unfortunately are trying to blackmail the federal government because they have nothing else to cash on.
@Saleem: Investors can dictate their preferences to a great extent. The Chinese investors want a safe and successful corridor. Obviously the most stable and safe route is through the Punjab and Sind but why are people upset at the government for the sentiments of Chinese investors? Where is common sense?
Why are we always denied equal opportunities in Pakistan? Pakistan is not just Punjab and Sindh. These two provinces are obviously the blood-suckers akin to the Feudal system. What else do they contribute to the national wellness.
I guess any investor will be concerned with "security" of goods while in trnasit and I will not blame them for that.
May I know where lies the Abbottabad, Havelian, Haripur districts? Aren't they in KPK or do they consider that to be a separate Hazara province? Mind it if the focus here is about main cities of a province then Lahore or Karachi are not on the main corridor. Another thing, May I know which other country other than China, Qatar or Saudi Arabia is going to support our country? Utter nonsense, period.