Pakistan-China project: APC cautions against corridor route change

Says original route is not only short and economical but also passes through the most backward areas

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD:

An all parties’ conference (APC) has welcomed the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor but cautioned that political parties will not allow implementation of this bilateral project if any change is made in the original route from Khunjrab to Gwadar.

The APC, called by the Awami National Party (ANP) on Tuesday, was attended by leaders from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Qaumi Watan Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party and Balochistan National Party-Mengal.

“We in particular welcome the proposed Pakistan-China Economic Corridor that is expected to write a new chapter in socio-economic development of the region.

“[However] we want to make it abundantly clear that we are not against multiple routes but it cannot be done at the cost of the original route that is not only short and economical but also passes through the most backward areas of the country,” reads a joint declaration issued after the APC.

The participants said that they were concerned to see that after initially choosing an economical, logical and considerably shorter route, the government seems to have developed second thoughts and says that since the original route will take a lot of time to build, the government will use the existing road systems after filling some of the gaps.

“The proposed economic corridor is not just a big road. It includes rail tracks, oil and gas pipelines, fibre optic cable, projects for energy resources and Industrial parks, and the question is, will this heavy infrastructure be built twice?” the declaration asked rhetorically.

The participants said the original route passes through the areas badly hit by terrorism and the construction of this route will go a long way to revive them.

“However, if the federal government goes back on its word about the original route of the proposed economic corridor, it will create a lot of deprivation and alienation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” the joint declaration added.

The APC also welcomed the scheduled visit of the Chinese president to Pakistan.

“We also demand from the federal government to remove ambiguity and clarify the situation instead of telling stories to the people,” said the declaration.

The APC also demanded the government take people of Gwadar and Balochistan into confidence. “Ignoring the opinion of the Baloch people will be like playing Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark,” it said. “The government should form a parliamentary caucus to ensure construction of the originally approved route and take necessary steps in parliament,” it said.

Achazkai’s press conference

Meanwhile, PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to build national consensus on the economic corridor route.

“I have asked the prime minister not to deprive any province of the corridor in order to improve their economy,” he told reporters in Quetta. “I proposed it would be better if it goes through Pishin, Zhob, Afghanistan and Central Asia which would reduce the distance to about 600 kilometres.”

The PkMAP chief said some political parties are busy merely in point-scoring on the corridor route without any rational approach.

He said he had informed the government that Pashtun, Sindhi and Baloch are being ignored in this issue. “Punjab is our province and it should also benefit [from the project] but there is a dire need for political consensus on the route,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2015.