CPEC to be a historic turnaround for Pakistan, seminar told

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be definitely a historic and great turnaround for Pakistan, said the vice chancellor of the University of Karachi on Friday.

Dr M Ajmal Khan was addressing a seminar, titled “Sindh at the crossroad of success through CPEC”. It was organised by the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilisation, KU, at the institute’s auditorium. The seminar aimed at clearing up misconceptions about the CPEC and explaining its various aspects.

Dr Khan said that the CPEC would prove to be a great and historic milestone in the history of the Pak-China relations, and it would not only bring extensive job opportunities to the locals but also bring development to the underdeveloped areas of the country, especially Balochistan and Sindh.

“I believe that preaching alone can never change a country; you have to change objective conditions as well.” He mentioned that education, infrastructure and power resources must be developed in order to build a nation. Moreover, he stressed that a paradigm shift from the feudal to a modern mindset was mandatory to achieve the goal of economic progress.

“Our federal and provincial bureaucracy believes that a few grants will bring about a sudden change. On the contrary, commitment and consistency is the actual key to development.”

Addressing the audience, former federal secretary Fazalullah Qureshi talked about the railway and sea routes covered by the CPEC and their influence on the development and improvement of the routes. He mentioned various power projects and transport infrastructure projects, including ten transport projects, out of which only two were in Sindh.

“Sindh is a like a surrogate mother, producing power from Thar Coal and Bin Qasim, that is being utilised by Punjab.” He further talked about the scarcity of quality water available to the people of a province that was producing 70 percent of the total revenue for Pakistan. 

“We only have a surplus of manpower,” he said in response to a question. He left the rostrum with the question: “Why can’t we divert resources in the social sector?” 

The director general of the Sindh Board of Investment, Dr Tanveer Ahmed Qureshi, spoke about the per capita GDP being $1,400, saying the market size of Pakistan was 220 million consumers. “We need to focus on three I’s, i.e. institution, infrastructure and investment.”  

He emphasised the vitality of Karachi being the backbone of the financial structure of the country since the city had two seaports and was a gateway to Central Asia, Africa, Europe and China. He also discussed special economic zones situated in Khairpur, Bin Qasim, Korangi Creek, Dhabeji, Keti Bandar and other locations of rural Sindh.

Dr Qureshi mentioned that on the chart of quality governance Pakistan ranks at 138, China is at 84, followed by India at 130 out of a total of 189 countries. He informed the audience that it took 14,000 kilometres for China to reach Gwadar via Indonesia through the route of Shanghai, but the route had now been reduced to just 3,200 kilometres via Kashgar.

“Pakistan will benefit from investing in transport, energy and industrial sector.” He said that the CPEC would not only act as a concrete game changer but also would bring opportunities for the common people and enable them to change the game themselves.  He urged that education should be the core value that needed attention and improvement that would mend ways towards development and success for the people of Pakistan.

Another speaker, Javed Qazi, who is a lawyer, writer and political analyst, focused on poverty and feudalism in Sindh. “Worship the ocean which is connecting us with the world” he said quoting Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.  Ten million people in Sindh were malnourished and had no access to clean water, he said and emphasised that the people of rural Sindh were compelled to elect feudal leaders even though none of them ever appeared to be a blessing for them.

He said that the reason class structure was not breaking was because there was no development in the infrastructure of the industrial sector. “People are not going to vote for narrator; instead, they’ll vote for the lords. May God have mercy on them.”

The ISHU director and the event’s coordinator, Professor Dr Bilquees Gul, said the whole world had its eyes on the CPEC and the project would prove to be the game changer for not only Pakistan but the whole region.

The dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, KU, Professor Dr Muhammad Ahmed Qadri, termed the CPEC the fate changer for Pakistanis. “The CPEC has the attention of the whole international community. It will be a beneficial factor to reduce and minimise poverty from Pakistan. Transfer of technology from China will enable Pakistan to deal with the modern day challenges. China and Pakistan will make a great difference in the world with reference to the political economy as a result of the CPEC.”