The government will set up an autonomous China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority for fast track execution of development projects in various sectors of economy. This was announced by Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar while addressing a joint news conference along with Special Assistant to PM on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan here in Saturday.
"A bill for the establishment of new authority will soon be introduced in the Parliament," he revealed. To institutionalise and take forward the cooperation, he said that CPEC Secretariat was being transitioned and elevated into the autonomous authority under the Ministry of Planning, Development & Reform that would provide a much needed platform for multi-sect oral coordination and coordinate efforts for development and implementation of future CPEC plans.
The minister said that Pakistan had committed to establish the authority under original framework agreement of the CPEC. He said that Ministry of Planning would remain the lead ministry on Pakistan side and NDRC on Chinese side as per the CPEC Bilateral MoU signed between the governments of Pakistan and China. "The 9th JCC is scheduled to be held in October 2019 where further progress will be made and Ning, Vice Chairman NDRC, will also participate in the JCC," he added.
Due to the endeavours of the incumbent government, he said CPEC had now entered into the second phase where the focus would now be laid on industrial and agricultural cooperation, development of Gwadar and socio-economic development. In the second phase, scope of CPEC will be broadened and its pace will be hastened which will have far-reaching results and pave the way for economic development.
"The Gwadar Master Plan is in final stages of development and I assure you that framework will attract foreign investment manifolds and truly turn Gwadar into a trans-shipment hub and a smart port city," the minister said. China-Pakistan Business Council has been established to be an interface between business communities of the two countries encouraging business to business interaction and accelerate industrial cooperation which will strengthen partnership between investors of two countries that will also benefit the CPEC projects.
He said the two countries had also decided to establish Pakistan-China Business Council with a view to include people from the private sector to implement industrial and agricultural development projects under the second phase of CPEC. He said Pakistan had shared names of leading industrialists with the Chinese side for the purpose.
He further said that Free Trade Agreement-II had already been concluded with China which would further increase exports to the neighbouring country thereby enhancing foreign exchange reserves.
He maintained that Pakistan was the first recipient of $1 billion grant from Chinese institution, CIDCA, for socio-economic development projects which was reflective of strong partnership between the two countries. The work on these projects will commence shortly. "Under the socio-economic development grant, 4,000 household solar generator units have already reached Pakistan which will be distributed in different areas of Balochistan including Gwadar," he revealed.
The minister said the potential of industrial cooperation between the two countries could be gauged by recent visit of a leading business delegation from the famous western region city of Chingqong, China, which expressed keenness to invest $5 billion in next two to three years in the new SEZs. Six Chinese business and investor delegations have visited Pakistan in the last few months.
The government is committed to early operationalisation of SEZs under the CPEC and for that purpose a project "Provision of Utilities and Infrastructure Development" worth Rs 18 billion is being developed for which sizable amount has been kept in the PSDP, he added. "We need to focus on ML-1 project which will prove to be a backbone for the development of communication infrastructure in the country." Khusro Bakhtiar said $8.5 billion ML-1 railway track project has been divided into three phases, and the preliminary design of the project was signed during the last visit of the Prime Minister to China. He said the project would contribute to materialising the dream of regional connectivity through Pakistan.
The minister also welcomed the financing of the projects under the CPEC by international consortium on acceptable rate of interest, he said. A Joint Working Group on Agriculture (JWG) will meet in September this year and following the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan Cooperation in agriculture will be expanded. Co-branding and co-marketing of agriculture products would be initiated and Foot & Mouth Disease Free Zone had been set up in Bahawalpur, he said.
A Chinese agri-experts group will visit Pakistan on 22 July to discuss further developments in six areas of agriculture. They would also visit Foot and Mouth Disease Free Zone in Bahawalpur.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said the federal government had referred a case of former Minister for Defence and Water and Power Khawaja Asif to Ministry of Interior to ascertain whether the national security of the country was compromised as he was also an employee of a foreign company. The Interior Ministry would further interrogate the linkage of this company where Khawaj Asif worked with other countries.
Responding to a question, she said the government would ready to dialogue with small traders who were on strike. However, she said the government would not listen to those traders who had political motives. She further said that courts were the appropriate forum to respond to the issues being faced by the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and not the recently held workers conventions of the party's political workers.
She said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi spent lavishly during his short tenure as Prime Minister. He made nine foreign trips in 2017, in which he spent 24 days abroad and took 109 people as delegation members with him. He spent Rs 111.74 million from national exchequer. In 2018, he made 10 foreign trips for 26 days and took 105 people with him, costing Rs 147.8 million to the national kitty. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi spent Rs 5.48 million as tips to the people. He also held official visits to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and UK which were not beneficial for the taxpayers, she blamed.
She categorically said that Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would not stop any TV talk show or ban any Twitter account or any other mode of information.
She also termed the allegations of pre-poll rigging in scheduled by-election in Gothki (Sindh), leveled by Bilawal Bhutto in a public rally in Sukkur, baseless. She said the federal government and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) have conveyed apprehensions to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) repeatedly against the violation of election code of conduct. She said that provincial government was supporting the candidate belonging to the ruling party there.
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