‘Look to the west’: Assembly demands status quo for Pak-China corridor

Resolution against route change passed unanimously by house

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, through a unanimous resolution on Friday, asked the federal government to ensure the early implementation of the western route of the Pak-China Economic Corridor. The resolution was moved by QWP Parliamentary Leader Sikandar Sherpao and backed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Sikandar raised the issue on a point of order, saying the Chinese president will soon visit Pakistan and multiple agreements would be signed during his tour.

Sikandar added the house had previously passed a resolution against the diversion of the Kasghar-Gwadar corridor. He urged lawmakers to pass a resolution to press the issue at this opportune moment of the Chinese president’s visit.



Minister for Law Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi backed Sikandar’s assertion and said the government would support the resolution. ANP’s Parliamentary Leader Sardar Hussain Babak said the diversion of the proposed project would fuel resentment in Balochistan and K-P.

Babak believed the federal government should have “cleared the air of uncertainty” surrounding the route of the corridor after the first resolution was passed by the provincial assembly a few weeks ago. He added the K-P leadership must be taken into confidence over this issue.

Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman accused the federal government of discriminating against the province. He said if the corridor was diverted, it would amount to criminal negligence.

Securing investment

In the resolution, the K-P Assembly welcomed President Xi Jinping on his visit to Pakistan. It said a number of important agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the two countries during the Chinese head of state’s tour.

The resolution said apart from strengthening relations between the countries, the visit would also pave the way towards ensuring Chinese investment in the country.

“The problems and miseries of the people of K-P and its adjoining tribal belt must not be overlooked at any cost, rather, [the] region’s vulnerability to extremism, terrorism and backwardness should be highlighted to secure more investment,” it read. The resolution added the western route of the trade corridor should be included in the early harvest plan.

The house unanimously adopted the resolution. It also passed another resolution moved by PTI lawmaker Mehmood Jan, asking for the establishment of a provincial planning service for planning and development officers of all government departments.

Another lack of quorum

The session started over two hours behind schedule and was adjourned within 28 minutes due to the lack of quorum.

It was scheduled to start at 2:00pm, but proceedings got under way by 4:02pm. At the start of the session, the house passed two resolutions and later proceeded towards other items on the agenda. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf dissident lawmaker Javed Nasim pointed out the lack of quorum.

However, all Nasim’s observation did was incur the ire of the Speaker Asad Qaiser who told him to mind his own business. The speaker then asked Shah Farman to answer the queries of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker Najma Shaheen. However, Farman also pointed to the lack of quorum.

This forced the speaker to announce a count which found 24 members present in the house.

Qaiser consequently directed the bells to be rung for two minutes and the recount found 25 members. He ultimately adjourned the session till Monday afternoon. The house could not take up questions and other items on the agenda for the day.

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