The president of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain, has said that India should stop opposing the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and consider joining it, which will pave the way for provision of a land route to Afghanistan. But India will have to show meaningful progress on Kashmir and other disputes.
He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is set to lead a high-profile delegation to China where he will meet the Chinese president and participate in the "Belt and Road Forum for International Co-operation." Pakistan and China can adopt a "long-term plan" for CPEC during the visit, and the will ensure rapid implementation of the project, he said. He added that 7,000 megawatts of electricity will be added in the national grid by 2018 while the eastern and western routes will be linked. This will be the beginning of the process of industrialisation, which include establishment of a special economic zones. For that reason the efforts of Pakistani government and people are laudable.
He said CPEC is an important step towards a new global economic order, which will trigger growth in the third world. The Western economic model has added to the miseries of the third world and shifted the resources of poor nations to the developed world, while the Chinese economic model will ensure development of the poor nations, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the economic corridor will strengthen the Pakistani economy by boosting the GDP, increasing exports and providing employment. CPEC will also reduce trade imbalance with China as many Chinese companies will start producing things that are needed in the friendly country, he added.