Economic corridor: Senate panel for addressing reservations of small provinces

A parliamentary panel Monday asked the government to address reservations of the small provinces on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and prevent the significant project from becoming another Kalabagh Dam like controversy. "The committee is absolutely not satisfied with the assurances given by the government on the CPEC. We want completion of this important project but the government needs to address the reservations of the small provinces and prevent another Kalabagh Dam like controversy", Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Co-ordination recommended in its meeting chaired by Mir Kabit Ahmad Shahi.
The committee also recommended that legislation should be done not only to change the demography of Gwadar Port as well as the authority should be given to the provincial government, besides determining the revenue share of Balochistan from Gwadar Port. The committee further recommended that the $46 billion CPEC project which also includes $25 billion road infrastructure and airport construction projects should not be kept in ambiguity.
In his observations, the chairman of the committee said that the panel was not satisfied with the assurances of the government given on various projects of the CPEC. "CPEC is not a matter of a route and there are a number of projects but why the Minister for Planning and Development is keeping the affairs in ambiguity?" He asked, adding that $64 billion is coming due to Gwadar but in return nothing is being given to the province.
Committee member Usman Khan Kakar maintained that the basic idea of the corridor project is to focus on the less developed areas and follow the shortest route. "Both the less developed areas and the shortest routes are being ignored by none other the Prime Minister," he said, adding the Prime Minister had committed in an All-Parties Conference to redress reservations of the provinces but not a single penny has been allocated for the agreed western route.
He further maintained the two road projects that were recently inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Zhob had nothing to do with the western route as these projects were laying pending since 2002 during Musharraf government. He said the original route as agreed in the All-Parties Conference was DI Khan-Zhob-Qila Saifullah-Quetta-Kalat-Sohrab, which is the shortest route but the government is trying to confuse the things.
"The agitations that have already been started against the unfulfilled promises [by PM], I am confident you would not be in a position to stop if it turned into a revolt," warned Kakar who is also parliamentary leader of Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party in Senate, a ruling coalition partner. He said that in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, all political parties including PTI, JUI-F and ANP are joining hands against the government, adding the Prime Minister needs to address their concerns before it is too late.
Under the project, he pointed out that there are around 16,800 MW energy projects that would be installed but mere 16 MW projects have not even been proposed on the areas along the proposed western route. "Gwadar is situated in Balochistan but 80 percent revenue will go to China and the remaining 20 percent to go only to province - Punjab," he further maintained, adding that how could reservations of the province be redressed in such situation.
Earlier, Project Director CEPC Major General Zahir Shah (Retd) briefed the committee on the project, saying that completion of CPEC would be a game changer not only for Pakistan and China but to the entire region including Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and it would also benefit India.
He said that it was not a two-year project but the medium term projects will be completed in 2015 and long-term projects in 2030. He said that there are a number of projects not only in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa but other provinces from road infrastructure to railways tracks, economic zones, installation of fiber optic and energy projects that would benefit the people in the long-term.
He said that the Prime Minister had committed while addressing a joint session of the Parliament that whole Pakistan will benefit from CPEC and the same commitment was made by Chinese President that this economic corridor will bring prosperity on equal basis to the entire country.
However, committee members expressed dissatisfaction over the briefing and stated that the government needs to address the concerns of the small provinces and the political parties. "It seems we are being bluffed as no one is ready to present a correct picture of the projects under the CPEC," he said, adding that the road project which was recently inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Zhob has nothing to do with the economic corridor.
The committee, which was also attended by Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada, also expressed serious concerns over lack of representation in the top bureaucracy from Balochistan. The committee also instructed the Establishment Division to present a list of the top bureaucrats from Balochistan currently posted under the federal government.