PPP won't allow anyone to politicize CPEC, vows Zardari

KARACHI: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won't allow anyone to politicize the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said the party's Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari while chairing a meeting held on CPEC at Bilawal House here on Wednesday.

However, the party would be compelled to launch protest in case the smaller provinces stand ignored, the meeting agreed.

The meeting also observed that the PPP fully supports the CPEC and looks forward to seeing on time completion of all the underway projects of the CPEC. It is good that Karachi Circular Railways, establishment of Economic Zone and Keti Bandar projects have also been added to the CPEC. The federal government should waste no time in implementing the resolution that was adopted at the All Party Conference held in recent past on the CPEC.

The meeting was attended by PPP Parliamentarian and members of Sindh provincial assembly. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was also present but only for a while. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who had recently visited China over the issue of inclusion of KCR, Keti Bandar and Economic Zone under the CPEC briefed the meeting.

The chief minister told the meeting that inclusion of certain projects proposed by the provincial government is a great achievement as these projects would on completion and commencement of operation bring prosperity to the lives of the people of the province and would also open new avenues of earnings and employment.

These projects would help reduce poverty in the province, as well, the CM added.

The Chair of the meeting instructed the CM to approach the federal government for early commencing of work on the projects.

Zardari told the meeting that the CPEC is the game changer and a lot of countries in the world would also benefit from it. The CPEC would bring prosperity and would help strengthen the economy of the country.

He claimed that the work on CPEC was started during previous tenure of the PPP and the party is desirous to see the CPEC gets completed on time without facing any impediment.

PPP would extend full cooperation to the incumbent federal government but would be compelled to protest in case the federal government ignores the smaller provinces, said Zardari, adding that the party would, however, not drag the CPEC into politics and would also oppose any effort to politicize it.

Zardari said that others are in haste to take credit of the CPEC but it was PPP that pioneered work on it. The CPEC is so vital that almost 500 Chinese citizens have completed their PhD on Pakistan and they are now fluent speakers of Urdu.

He said that Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto had obtained K-2 from China and he had visited China soon after he had sworn in as President. Benazir Bhutto had added power projects for 50, 000 mega watts but her government was toppled despite the fact that she had a vast plan for the development in Pakistan.

In his short stay at the meeting, Bilawal asked the provincial government to take steps for learning of Chinese language. --NNI