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Change in Pak-China Economic Corridor route opposed
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our correspondent
Thursday, June 12, 2014
From Print Edition
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ISLAMABAD: The senators asked the government to seek an approval of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) before changing the route of Pak-China Economic Corridor.
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The government is envisaging changes in the route to ensure the security of Chinese envoys.
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The joint opposition in the senate opposed this proposal without the permission of the CCI – the highest constitutional body dealing in inter-provincial issues.
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The issue of realignment surfaced during a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Finance held on Wednesday.
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The Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal asked the opposition to find out investors for constructing this important corridor on BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis and then there will be no change in the original plan.
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However, the panel adopted the recommendation of the joint opposition for asking the government to take the CCI's permission.
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The senators, hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, argued the new alignment excludes many areas of their provinces as the new route largely passes from Punjab.
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Senator Sardar Fateh Mohammad said the government changed the original Gawadar connectivity route and excluded the Pushtun and Baloch belts. He said Balochistan has reservations over the change in route.
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Senator Ilyas Bilour said the Maulana Fazul Rehman told him the government changed the route on the desire of China. While quoting Maulana Fazal-Ur-Rehman, Bilour said Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan ruled out Beijing's pressure on government to change the route.
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Senator Talha Mahmood said that the government was not fully exploiting the opportunity, asking that it should seek maximum benefits in return as China was solely depending to cater development needs of its western part.
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Pakistan and China had signed initial agreements for $34 billion investment in Pakistan. On the occasion, Secretary Planning and Development Hasan Nawaz Tarar opposed the move for seeking nod of CCI, saying that the corridor was being built under a bilateral arrangement and therefore, there was no need for seeking approval of the CCI.
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The secretary planning said that the corridor would be built on new lines after China refused to finance the other route.
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Iqbal urged the nation to avoid provoking sentiment of provincialism, warning it could hurt the national development agenda. He said the government has not abandoned the original route, called western route.
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It has only decided to first construct the eastern route with Chinese assistance.
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The planning minister informed the standing committee both countries have agreed to build the corridor along eastern alignment.
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He said the eastern route will largely be completed on BOT basis – a facility that is not available to construct western route.
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Dad the government adopted the old western route, the entire cost of construction would have fallen on the shoulders of Pakistan, he remarked.
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The eastern route will be completed through combination of BOT, concessionary loans by China, but with only limited government financing. The government has not abandoned the original route, which passes through western parts of the country.
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Pakistan will also be benefiting from the corridor and the arrangement is a win-win situation for both the countries. In future, Sino-India trade can also take place along this route, said the minister.