May 14 , 2015
News
Foreign forces trying to sabotage Pak-China corridor project: PM
APPISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Wednesday said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was aimed at economic progress of the entire region as it would help boost trade and improve connectivity.
He was addressing parliamentary leaders gathered here at the Prime Minister’s House for a briefing on the CPEC.
The prime minister said the foreign forces, which did not view the close working of Pakistan with China and the project positively, and were trying to sabotage the project, must realise that it was not against any country, rather it was beneficial for the entire region.
He said the nation must stand united to foil the nefarious designs against the CPEC as those projects were not for a party or an individual, rather were for the country’s development.
He said the region was home to three billion population and the improved connectivity would help the area get out of the isolation of the past. There was a need to enhance linkages with all countries and generate economic activity, he added.
Nawaz said his government would do its best to remove any ambiguities about the economic corridor.
He said he had always spoken about removing sense of deprivation while focussing on building consensus.
Regarding Balochistan, he said quality roads were being constructed in the province that would link Gwadar with the rest of the country.
He said every government in power must work for the progress of Pakistan and should endeavour to hand over the country to the next government in a better condition. He said different projects under the corridor would be beneficial for the nation and the country.
The prime minister said his government believed in taking decisions on important national issues with consensus as it was a positive a democratic tradition.
Nawaz said it was a tradition of his government to discuss all issues, challenges and future plans with the parliamentary leaders and representatives of all political parties to find an amicable solution and the way forward.
All democracies work in the same fashion and take important decisions after deliberations and with consensus, he added.
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal gave a comprehensive briefing to the participants about the economic corridor and said it was not merely confined to a specific route, rather it was a concept that encompassed all areas of the country.
He said all provinces will be consulted before finalizing the sites for establishment of industrial zones under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The minister dismissed the impression that the route of CPEC had been altered to pass through Punjab ignoring other provinces.
Instead, he said, the working group which was responsible to demarcate the sites for industrial zones was yet to be formed. “After the formation of the said working group, all provincial governments would be asked to suggest the areas feasible for industrial parks in their provinces,” he said.
He said that CPEC was not just the name of a road or a route, rather it was a portfolio of projects having complete framework. “The CPEC is an umbrella which includes the projects of energy, industry, Gwadar port and infrastructure worth 46 billion dollars,” he added.
Ahsan Iqbal said there would be three principle alignments to access Gwadar upto Khunjrab that would pass through the eastern, central and western parts of the country.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari said the Pakistan People’s Party fully supported the economic corridor and urged that the entire national leadership needed to support the project for country’s bright future.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, terming the corridor a national project, congratulated the government over the progress made so far.
Mushid Hussain Syed of PML-Q said the briefing would help remove misconceptions about the economic corridor.
The meeting was attended by representatives and heads of political parties. The PPP delegation was led by former president Asif Ali Zardari, PTI by Shah Mahmood Qureshi, ANP by Asfandyar Wali, MQM by Farooq Sattar, JUI-F by Maulana Fazalur Rehman, JI by Liaqat Baloch, BNP by Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini and PML-Q by Mushahid Hussain Syed.
Mehmood Khan Achakzai of PKMAP, Hasil Khan Bizanjo of NP, Ijaz-ul-Haq of PML(Z), Aftab Ahmed Sherpao of QWP, Senator Prof Sajid Mir, Syed Ghazi Jamal and Alhaj Shah Jee Gul from FATA and Peer Ejaz Hashmi represented their parties respectively.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk