CPEC: Blessing For Pakistan And Region – OpEd

CPEC is a flagship $62 billion project of Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s Belt and Road Initiative that aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe via roads and railway networks.

CPEC connects Kashgar city of China with Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Baluchistan on the Arabian Sea.

For Pakistan, CPEC is a game changer and it will bring prosperity to Pakistan. It will be a big boost for Pakistan economy. First of all transport and communication sector will flourish. The network of roads and railway tracks will benefit both the investors and public to communicate more efficiently. China and Pakistan trade will enhance rapidly. CPEC projects will help to counter energy and power related issues in Pakistan. 

CPEC will create lots of job opportunities of youth and it will overcome unemployment related problems of Pakistan. CPEC will attract huge scale of investment for Pakistan and it will help in repaying debts. CPEC will benefit the whole region not only the Pakistan. 

“The corridor is a manifestation of Pakistan-China friendship and the government will complete it at any cost and bring its fruit to every Pakistani,” former Prime Minister Imran Khan said at a meeting held to review progress on the CPEC projects.

India is intimidated if CPEC projects complete in time and it gets operational then influence of India will minimize in Afghanistan and central Asia. India also fears that CPEC will bring spotlight to IIOJK which was forcefully annexed by India.  

“The Indian Government’s concerns arise from the fact that the inclusion of the so-called illegal ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’ (CPEC) as a flagship project of ‘OBOR/BRI’, directly impinges on the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity of India” the Ministry of External Affairs told Lok Sabha,

“This so-called illegal ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’ (CPEC) passes through parts of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh which are under illegal occupation of Pakistan, asserted MEA.”

Irrespective of India’s protests and sovereignty concerns, China has always defended the CPEC project, saying it is an economic project not aimed at any third country. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said ‘China is having discussions with third parties, including Afghanistan, on the extension of CPEC.”

India is trying its best to sabotage CPEC and for that purpose it is supporting terrorists from Afghanistan and Pakistan to create unrest in Pakistan. India and Raw were behind all the recent terrorist attacks on Chinese officials. Kulbhushan Yadhav an Indian spy and a mastermind, was involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan, Baluchistan, Karachi and CPEC was his ultimate targets. World can see clearly about India’s bad attention to disrupt peace in Pakistan. 

India never wants Pakistan to prosper and it cannot afford to see stability in Pakistan. China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) worries India because bright future of Pakistan is not in the interest of Indian establishment and politicians. 

Pakistan and China strong friendship have never been easy to digest for India and India wants to dismantle this long time friendship someway or other. India considers china and Pakistan a bigger threat for its existence. 

Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi, in an exclusive interview with the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI) said “Pakistan had emerged as new hub of economy linked with the Central Asian states, and China providing the shortest route. So, Pakistan is becoming an economic hub. Part of that economic hub is the CPEC route. And India, of course, is playing its own role as a spoiler.”

World knows that whenever Pakistani nation took a firm stance on any state level program, they executed it perfectly. Pakistan Nuclear program (State of the art) is the best example. Similarly, all political parties, Pak Army and whole nation are committed to complete CPEC projects on the best interest of our country. 

*Ahsan Zaheer is a freelance journalist and Islamabad based analyst and can be reached at [email protected]