Economic corridor: Govt to follow up on May 13 APC, National Assembly told

Official advised to avoid making multibillion-dollar project another Kalabagh

ISLAMABAD: An enraged opposition leader in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah, was the focus of attention at Monday’s proceedings at the lower house of parliament mainly because of his concerns over the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the ‘discriminatory’ criterion recently adopted in the promotion of federal bureaucrats.

In response to Shah’s suggestions, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif assured the lawmakers that a follow-up meeting to the May 13 all-party conference on the economic corridor would be convened soon. He said the APC remained inconclusive because of the Safoora bus attack.

Khawaja Asif hinted that a committee could be formed to clear misunderstandings. “We are ready to hold meetings on this issue to address concerns [of some parties],” he added.

Earlier, opposition leader Shah advised the government to resolve this matter amicably and avoid making it another Kalabagh dam.

He said PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had paid nine visits to China to discuss the economic corridor project. “We are happy that during the PML-N government this project is being finalised.” At the same time, he doubted the corridor route was not the same that had been agreed upon during high-level negotiations.



“Sindh is covered in the current route of the economic route – but still our heart goes out for other less developed parts of the country,” he added. Naming some underdeveloped areas of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Shah said apparently a few areas were being ignored in the final plan. “We [still] believe the government's claim is true that no change is being introduced in the route.”

Earlier, two resolutions were unanimously adopted by the house regarding Naltar helicopter crash and Karachi bus attack. Lawmakers also offered fateha and condemned the terrorist attack on the peaceful Ismaili community.

Promotion in bureaucracy

The leader of opposition also demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif take back the decision of the recently held promotion board. Smaller provinces, particularly Sindh and Balochistan, have been ignored, he said adding that cronies have been rewarded by a school of thought which is working against the concept of a strong federation.



Shah said Tauqeer Shah was promoted despite the fact that he figured 135 on the merit list. He noted that he also wrote a letter to the prime minister on this issue but could not get any reply.

MNA Sardar Kamal Bangalzai of the National Party (NP) questioned the current pattern of military operation in his constituency areas Kalat and Mastung.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2015.