Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo has said that the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) official website will help minimize the controversies as it will provide access to viable data for future analysis.
Addressing a session titled "Leveraging CPEC for Regional Co-operation in Energy and Transport Infrastructure," of the 19th Sustainable Development Conference organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), he said: "We should be optimistic regarding CPEC and shouldn't create controversies over it. Pakistan and China are very serious about the success of the CPEC."
The minister said that the mega project will not only change the destiny of Pakistan and China but will also bring a wave of prosperity and economic development in the entire region. Wang Nan from China said, "Security is another big concern over CPEC, so we have to make stable Afghanistan for making CPEC secure in the long-term."
Other speakers, including Dr Safdar Sohail, Dr Miftah Ismail, Dr Abid Suleri, Dr Fran Sun of China and Shakeel Ramay emphasised regional integration and reducing regional disparities. They stressed the need for making investment on human capital along with investment on infrastructure and industrial sector. At a session on the 'Future of SAARC, current challenges and potentials for peace, development and prosperity,' former Chief Economist Dr Pervez Tahir focused on the intra-regional trade and said trade share between India and Pakistan is comparatively very low whereas volume of Indian exports to Pakistan is more than Pakistani exports to India, due to which trade deficit is being increased.
Majid Aziz Advocate said private sector is not given the chance to trade with neighbours. "We should separate trade from our regional disputes," he said, adding that Pakistan should try to capture regional market like China and India. Social activist Karamat Ali said, "Regional co-operation is not the bigger challenge if we involve our civil society in it." He said that cancellation of SAARC summit will impact negatively. There should be mechanism to solve bilateral disputes, he said, suggesting completion of the SAARC agenda.
At another session on 'Minorities in Pakistan's Legal Framework,' Majid Munir from Association in Development (AiD) said Pakistan rectified the seven of the nine global human rights conventions and said there is lack of effective implementation strategies by the government. There is also a lack of training and awareness among the actors of society, which is a clear negation of the Constitution.
Sadiq Arsalan Lilla said that there is a huge gap between the constitutional provisions and their implementation, as they lead to discrimination in the society. Zain Mansoor highlighted the absence of any national law for Hindus and Christians. "There is lack of marriage, property and other social laws for the minorities," he said, adding that the allocated quota for minorities is also not considered in job market.
Jamal Janjua highlighted the form of indirect discrimination and quoted several examples of the metropolitans of Pakistan. The officials also become biased when they learn about the religious beliefs of people, he claimed. The panel was concluded with the recommendation to introduce an umbrella subject of religious studies instead of Islamic studies to promote interfaith harmony within the communities.
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