Of controversies and threats: Planning Commission reschedules meeting on CPEC

Paktunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek refuses to compromise on western route

PESHAWAR:

The Federal Planning Commission’s invitation to the activists of Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek (PUT) and political leaders from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to discuss the route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been rescheduled for November 4.

The first meeting with the planning commission was scheduled for October 26. However, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake, K-P leaders were unable to attend it. The meeting has now been rescheduled for November 4.

Voice of dissent

PUT has been the most active in opposing the alteration to the CPEC route. Activists said the federal government was not ready to accept their reservations and was planning to stick to its own plan of creating the eastern route first. They said this was not only against the interest of the smaller provinces, but also against the plan agreed to earlier.

According to PUT Chairman Said Alam Mehsud, “The maps of the Planning Commission, federal budget and the budget of the corridor reveal that nothing is according to the agreement at the All Parties’ Conference (APC) held on May 28.” Accusing the Planning Commission of making changes without consulting all parties, Mehsud said if the route of the corridor was diverted from K-P, the economy of Balochistan, K-P and Federally Administered Tribal Areas would suffer enormously.

Talking to The Express Tribune, he said the government focused all resources on a single province and was bent on creating the eastern route first without considering the negative impact.

Warning bells

Under the chairmanship of Said Alam Mehsud, PUT activists announced a countrywide protest against the proposed changes to the corridor. “If the Centre does not address our reservations in the coming meeting, we will launch a protest and awareness campaign about the issue,” Mehsud said.

According to Farzana Zain, a member of PUT, rather than blocking roads, the protest will be geared towards creating awareness among people. She said lawyers, traders, transporters, students and all the other educated segments of society will be targeted for this purpose.

“The first meeting and awareness session will be held with the lawyers of Peshawar High Court on November 5,” she added.

Zain said seminars will be held and resolutions will be passed from provincial assemblies so that people can build pressure on the Centre and fight for their rights.

The other side

While talking to The Express Tribune, K-P Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Spokesperson Nasir Musazai said, “There are some point scoring concerns, mass confusion and a general mistrust among provincial leaders about the construction of CPEC. All three routes will be constructed in due time.”

Musazai added the activists and nationalist leaders now want assurances over the dates for construction and exact locations through which the corridor will pass.

“The stance of PML-N leaders in K-P is quite clear; all the three corridors will be built step by step,” he reiterated.

The original plan

Under the initial CPEC plan, three corridors - western, eastern and central were to be constructed with the help of China. The aim was to connect Gwadar port to Kashghar area in China.

On May 13, the first APC was held where it was decided to form a parliamentary committee to oversee the project. On May 28, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif convened a second APC to gather a unanimous decision regarding the construction of CPEC. During the meeting, with the consent of all the parties, it was announced the western route of the corridor will be constructed first.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2015.