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Screambowl

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Bharaaaaatttt mata Ki jai .....
!!!!!


Javaaaaaab dena shuru!!!!!!!

Pakistan murdabad!!!!!!
 

Abhinav Dharma

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5 Reasons Gwadar Port Trumps Chabahar
China and Pakistan’s port at Gwadar will see smoother sailing than India and Iran’s alternative.

In New Delhi’s latest bid to flex its economic muscles, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran last month and signed an agreement to develop the $500 million Chabahar port. The port, if materialized, would be a gateway for Indian goods into Central Asia. This is indeed a remarkable agreement but every strategic move faces strategic impediments, and Chabahar is no exception. Only 72 kilometers away lies Pakistan’s Gwadar port, which itself holds greater significance and poses tangible economic, commercial, and strategic challenges to Chabahar. Here are five ways Gwadar outflanks Chabahar:

1. Experience: This is the first time India has plunged into a foreign port development venture with such vigor. Chabahar is a geographical reach for New Delhi, since it is not in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where India not only has several functional ports (Mumbai, Kolkata, and Goa) but has the shield of Indian Navy also. In Chabahar India would be a guest state, whose borders and territorial waters are at a much greater distance. Moreover, the vessels transporting goods to Chabahar would also be subject to the active monitoring of the Pakistani Navy, which would keep a hawk-eyed watch on the high seas and adjacent international waters. On the contrary, Gwadar is not only developed by China — which has a wealth of experience in overseas infrastructure projects — but the government of Pakistan has handed over the control of port to China. Tehran won’t do the same, at least judging by the existing agreement with India.

2. Security: After Chabahar in Iran, the next stop for Indian goods will be Afghanistan, and then subsequently to the Central Asian states. Although India has enjoyed cordial terms with the successive post-2001 governments of Afghanistan together with its $2 billion investment there, the security situation is inadequate in major areas. Besides, the Taliban, the major insurgent group in Afghanistan has no love for India, since the latter historically supported the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Gwadar too is witnessing security issues, since Balochistan province is subject to low-scale belligerency. Still, the scope and extent of separatist brawls in the area have decreased in recent years while many militant groups have voluntarily surrendered to security agencies.

3. The Iran Question: One year after the Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with the P5+1 states, the deal has not lived up to expectations. Iran recently launched a nuclear-capable missile, violating a UN Security Council resolution (which prohibits any Iranian nuclear launch or test). Further, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed that Iran “will not cooperate with America over the regional crisis, Their aims in the region are 180 degrees opposed to Iran’s.” Given this scenario, the prospect of lifting of all sanctions on Iran is again in doubt. The uncertainty regarding sanctions could undeniably have negative consequences for the India-Iran Chabahar deal. Gwadar has no such problems. There are no restrictions on China’s investment anywhere nor is Pakistan subject to any kind of UN sanctions. Furthermore, China holds veto power on the UN Security Council — thus even in the case of a proposed resolution that could impact Gwadar, China could veto the move and continue its economic ventures with Pakistan.

4. The Afghanistan Pressure Point: Despite enhanced Indo-Afghan diplomatic, political, and economic connections, Pakistan’s role and influence in Afghanistan has not withered. Though the central government of Afghanistan leans more toward India, Pakistan has connections with several ethnic groups who represent a major portion of Afghan society. Additionally, Pakistan and China are vigorously working together on the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which culminates in Gwadar. China would not want such a huge investment going to waste. Thus there is every possibility that Beijing and Islamabad join hands to obstruct the political and economic maze of Afghanistan, so as to obstruct India’s dreams of reaching Central Asia. Pakistan could also see an India-Iran covert partnership to cause dysfunction in Gwadar, but Tehran would likely refrain as it is trying to pacify relations with its neighbors and the international community in the wake of 2015 agreement. Any entanglement with Pakistan would also endanger the eastern border of Iran.

5. Partnerships and Rivalries: There is no economic competition between Pakistan and China. Chinese investment in Pakistan is also aimed at boosting trade with the rest of Asia, and Pakistan won’t become a hurdle in China’s quest to reach the Middle East and Persian Gulf . That’s because Pakistan is currently on the receiving end of a huge Chinese investment, which will revamp Pakistan’s feeble economic structure. The infrastructural development at Gwadar at the CPEC in general will help Pakistan to enhance trade with both China and the Middle East, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it would interrupt the flow of Chinese trade and goods to the same destination. However, the Iran-India dynamic is different. After the July 2015 agreement, Tehran is trying its level best to come into the mainstream international arena by accelerating trade in order to put its jammed economic wheel back on track. Iran will not allow India’s Central Asian dream to come true at the cost of Iranian interests.

Whether Gwadar or Chabahar, the developments of both ports can assist millions of people. Gwadar may well hold a slight edge because of its importance and utility, but it can produce best results only when there are no major regional threats. The same goes for Chabahar. Economic cooperation and integration is what’s needed in South Asia and even beyond. That, however, demands enhanced cooperation among all involved parties and the dissolution of all outstanding strategic and political misunderstandings.

Muhammad Daim Fazil is Lecturer of International Relations and Political Science at University of Gujrat, Sialkot Campus, Pakistan. He tweets @DaimFazil.
SEE THIs bro you would be amazed about it
 

Neo

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Russian researcher says CPEC ‘game-changer for the region’
HANEEN RAFI


Russian Consul general Oleg N. Avdeev speaks at the conference on the state of Pakistan's economy at the IoBM on tuesday.—Fahim Siddiqi/White Star

KARACHI: In an attempt to initiate a nuanced debate on the country’s economic fluctuations, the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) organised a two-day international conference titled ‘The state of Pakistan’s economy: issues and challenges in the 21st century’. Present were academics, economists, as well as those who have closely worked on policy formation, and the prominent discourse on the first day focused on development related to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Science Academy in Moscow, Dr Natalia Zamaraeva read out a paper in which she shared her research on the prospects and challenges of CPEC which she considers a “game-changer for the region”.

“CPEC, in my opinion, is the second phase of the new concept of the Silk Road. Signed in March 2015, China made a concrete proposal to Islamabad on interfacing the development strategy of the two countries,” she said.


Encompassing the field of railways, highways, steel, automotive, electricity, engineering, high technology, and environmental projects, “China is willing to assist in implementing several priority infrastructure projects in a bid to establish a long-term, stable partnership.”

According to estimates of Pakistani experts which Dr Zamaraeva shared, “its implementation will contribute to the country’s GDP by three per cent”.


In response to a question regarding security threats the project faces, she said that Pakistan would try to avoid any sort of global engagement that might put a strain on the project. “One such example is when Pakistan decided not to send its troops to Yemen.”

She also lauded the efforts of the organisers to encourage different perspectives on the topic, and added that in the “Russian federation too, we have similar heated discussions on the topic of CPEC.”

Another voice representing the Russian Federation was of Consul General Oleg N. Avdeev, who was the guest of honour at the conference.

“Intellectual exchange on opinion is essential as it may help the [Pakistani] government to chart an economic policy in the interest of every citizen,” he said, while speaking about the importance of holding such conferences that especially targeted the youth.

He said a lack of awareness between entrepreneurs of the two countries about each other was a problem that needed to be rectified, and IoBM, which has recently begun a student exchange programme, was a step in the right direction.


Prof Dr Shahida Wizarat, dean and head of the department of economics at IoBM, read out a paper titled ‘State of the Pakistan economy: an action plan for sustainable economic development’.

“I wish to highlight the issues and challenges faced by Pakistan and suggest an action plan which will make Pakistan water, food and energy secure,” she said.

One of the more interesting elements of her presentation was her focus on agricultural development in the country, and how it is plagued by “low and erratic growth”.

With major fluctuations in crop production, cotton growth was particularly hit hard. “There were negative growth rates in 2012-13 and 2013-14, turnaround in 2014-15, and a steep decline in 2015-16. The decline is mainly attributable to the use of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds.”

Her criticism of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was based on international researches. One such was by French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini which yielded results in which “female rodents fed GMOs for 24 months developed tumors, while male rodents suffered from liver damage and kidney problems among others.”

Prof Wizarat also delved into the CPEC debate and offered several suggestions to make the project a greater success. “Personnel to serve should be vetted thoroughly to ensure that foreign nationals and Pakistani nationals with close links to foreign governments are not selected,” she said.

“Honest Pakistani nationals should be selected to serve the authority with technical skills.”

Former ambassador Syed Hasan Javed said that Pakistan was witnessing “an era of transformation as there is more construction going on in Pakistan at this moment than in the whole of Europe”.

Referring to CPEC as a means to an end, Mr Javed argued that it would allow Pakistan’s economy to take off.

“China in 1980 was in many respects 25 years behind Pakistan. Today it is definitely 25 years ahead. The good thing is it still remembers its old friend and is willing to help.”

However, some audience members raised questions about the extent to which Pakistan would benefit from CPEC, and whether the benefits were mostly imagined by the country’s analysts and the public.

Published in Dawn September 28th, 2016

http://www.dawn.com/news/1286475/russian-researcher-says-cpec-game-changer-for-the-region
 

Neo

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ADB REVISES UP PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC GROWTH PROJECTION FOR 2017

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised up Pakistan's economic growth projection for the year 2017 from 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent.


In its updated flagship economic publication Asian Development Outlook (ADO) launched on Tuesday, it said that the growth projections for next year were retained for all economies of South Asia except Pakistan, which is higher, and Sri Lanka, which is lower.

"As such-and assuming further improvement in energy supply and security, and likely recovery in cotton and other agriculture-the growth forecast for FY2017 is revised up to 5.2%", the report added.


The ADO which is launched annually in March and updated in September provides a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic issues in developing Asia.

The report added that a major impetus to growth in FY2017 and beyond would be the implementation of $46 billion program of infrastructure spending on roads, railways, pipelines and electric power in an economic corridor project linking Pakistan with the People's Republic of China (PRC), which was announced in April 2015.

Fast-tracking would enable several energy projects to come on stream in FY2018, the report added.

The government significantly strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals and advanced a comprehensive program of structural reform under a 3-year program with the IMF that ended in September 2016.

Inflation has been squashed to the low single digits, foreign reserves rebuilt, and the budget deficit markedly reduced.

Tax reform was launched to improve revenue performance, and substantial progress achieved toward restructuring the power sector.

Key challenges remain, however, regarding governance and security issues, reviving agriculture and improving its productivity, increasing exports and attracting investment, strengthening public enterprises, and improving the business and regulatory environment.

The report observed that the planned reduction in the FY2017 budget deficit would enhance funding for private sector credit and better enable it to meet rising domestic demand.

The general government budget for FY2017 projects further reduction in the deficit to 3.8% of GDP achieved by adopting new revenue measures and streamlining current expenditure.

Tax revenues are projected to increase by half a percentage point, raising the ratio of tax to GDP to 12.8% by eliminating more tax concessions and exemptions, expanding the withholding system as part of administrative reform to widen the tax base, and raising some excise taxes and customs duties, the report added.

Inflation is now expected to average 4.7% in FY2017.


The upward revision takes into account expected oil price rises and stronger domestic demand in an increasingly supply constrained economy.

It is tempered by the prospect of a broad agricultural recovery and only modestly higher global food prices. The July 2016 Monetary Policy Statement covering the first 2 months of FY2017 kept policy rates unchanged as the central bank continues its cautious forward-looking approach, expecting to hold inflation within the range of 4.5%-5.5%.

The report observes that the current account deficit was expected to widen in FY2017 to about $5 billion, or 1.6 % of GDP, which is higher than forecast in March.

The revision reflects a somewhat greater increase in global oil prices than expected and continued expansion in other imports stemming from faster economic growth.

Exports are expected to perform better during the year, increasing by nearly 5% as a recovery in cotton production underpins an upturn in textile sales, and as global prices for non-oil commodities reverse from a sharp decline to a modest increase.

The report added that the mobilization of larger inflows into the capital and financial accounts had been central to the 3-year economic program with the IMF, and these flows are projected to increase to $6.5 billion in FY2017, mainly with more foreign direct investment and continuing sizeable official flows.

Thus, even with the projected widening of the current account deficit, the overall balance should remain in surplus, augmenting official reserves.

The corridor project with the China is expected to attract more foreign direct investment, and already in 2015 investors announced 40 greenfield projects worth a remarkable $19 billion, or 4 times the norm in recent years.

Moreover, the decision by Morgan Stanley Capital International to put Pakistan in its MSCI emerging market index, effective from May 2017, will likely spur equity portfolio inflows

http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/p...tans-economic-growth-projection-for-2017.html
 

ezsasa

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ADB REVISES UP PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC GROWTH PROJECTION FOR 2017

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised up Pakistan's economic growth projection for the year 2017 from 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent.


In its updated flagship economic publication Asian Development Outlook (ADO) launched on Tuesday, it said that the growth projections for next year were retained for all economies of South Asia except Pakistan, which is higher, and Sri Lanka, which is lower.

"As such-and assuming further improvement in energy supply and security, and likely recovery in cotton and other agriculture-the growth forecast for FY2017 is revised up to 5.2%", the report added.


The ADO which is launched annually in March and updated in September provides a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic issues in developing Asia.

The report added that a major impetus to growth in FY2017 and beyond would be the implementation of $46 billion program of infrastructure spending on roads, railways, pipelines and electric power in an economic corridor project linking Pakistan with the People's Republic of China (PRC), which was announced in April 2015.

Fast-tracking would enable several energy projects to come on stream in FY2018, the report added.

The government significantly strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals and advanced a comprehensive program of structural reform under a 3-year program with the IMF that ended in September 2016.

Inflation has been squashed to the low single digits, foreign reserves rebuilt, and the budget deficit markedly reduced.

Tax reform was launched to improve revenue performance, and substantial progress achieved toward restructuring the power sector.

Key challenges remain, however, regarding governance and security issues, reviving agriculture and improving its productivity, increasing exports and attracting investment, strengthening public enterprises, and improving the business and regulatory environment.

The report observed that the planned reduction in the FY2017 budget deficit would enhance funding for private sector credit and better enable it to meet rising domestic demand.

The general government budget for FY2017 projects further reduction in the deficit to 3.8% of GDP achieved by adopting new revenue measures and streamlining current expenditure.

Tax revenues are projected to increase by half a percentage point, raising the ratio of tax to GDP to 12.8% by eliminating more tax concessions and exemptions, expanding the withholding system as part of administrative reform to widen the tax base, and raising some excise taxes and customs duties, the report added.

Inflation is now expected to average 4.7% in FY2017.


The upward revision takes into account expected oil price rises and stronger domestic demand in an increasingly supply constrained economy.

It is tempered by the prospect of a broad agricultural recovery and only modestly higher global food prices. The July 2016 Monetary Policy Statement covering the first 2 months of FY2017 kept policy rates unchanged as the central bank continues its cautious forward-looking approach, expecting to hold inflation within the range of 4.5%-5.5%.

The report observes that the current account deficit was expected to widen in FY2017 to about $5 billion, or 1.6 % of GDP, which is higher than forecast in March.

The revision reflects a somewhat greater increase in global oil prices than expected and continued expansion in other imports stemming from faster economic growth.

Exports are expected to perform better during the year, increasing by nearly 5% as a recovery in cotton production underpins an upturn in textile sales, and as global prices for non-oil commodities reverse from a sharp decline to a modest increase.

The report added that the mobilization of larger inflows into the capital and financial accounts had been central to the 3-year economic program with the IMF, and these flows are projected to increase to $6.5 billion in FY2017, mainly with more foreign direct investment and continuing sizeable official flows.

Thus, even with the projected widening of the current account deficit, the overall balance should remain in surplus, augmenting official reserves.

The corridor project with the China is expected to attract more foreign direct investment, and already in 2015 investors announced 40 greenfield projects worth a remarkable $19 billion, or 4 times the norm in recent years.

Moreover, the decision by Morgan Stanley Capital International to put Pakistan in its MSCI emerging market index, effective from May 2017, will likely spur equity portfolio inflows

http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/p...tans-economic-growth-projection-for-2017.html
Bhai @Neo Pakistan's GDP per-capita was more than India in 1985. Personally I have always believed Pakistan should atleast be a 500-600 billion USD economy. Anything short of such growth rate is an underachievement.

I am not kidding with these remarks.
 

sorcerer

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The Express Tribune > Business
Global Competitiveness Index: Pakistan improves, but remains among bottom 20 economies

SLAMABAD: Pakistan remained among the bottom 20 in the list of 138 countries ranked on the influential Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum and is at the bottom among South Asian economies, trailing behind even Nepal and Bangladesh.

The 2016-17 Global Competitiveness Report, which this time compared governance in 138 countries, ranked Pakistan 122nd – 16 from the bottom compared to 14th from the bottom last year. Last year, the WEF had conducted survey in 140 nations and Pakistan was placed at 126th.
 

sorcerer

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The Express Tribune > Business
Power transmission line: Chinese company refuses to accept lower tariff

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first $1.57-billion high-voltage power transmission line project in the private sector has hit a stumbling block as the Chinese company working on it has refused to accept the tariff determined by the regulator, officials say.

A cooperation agreement for the project, part of priority list of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was signed in April 2015 by the National Transmission and Despatch Company and State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).

The regulator – National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) – had set a tariff of 0.70 cent per unit for the transmission of electricity through the 878km Matiari-Lahore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line connected to over 4,000-megawatt coal-based power projects in Sindh.

However, the tariff fell short of the expectation of the Chinese investor as it was demanding 0.914 cent per unit for a period of 25 years.:pound:
 

Neo

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Bhai @Neo Pakistan's GDP per-capita was more than India in 1985. Personally I have always believed Pakistan should atleast be a 500-600 billion USD economy. Anything short of such growth rate is an underachievement.

I am not kidding with these remarks.
I concur, the GDP is heavily underrated and if my govt applied the same formula as India did earlier this year, ie bringing in the informal sector and recalculate the sale of industrial goods such as cars, ac's, refrigerators, cellphones etc and update the CPI base year from 2004 to 2014, the total value may well exceed $500 billion.
And I am not even taking about the black market which is believed to be 50% of the current GDP.

Pakistan has a huge laborforce, 80+ million people have work but only 0.5% pay taxes.
This means that the majority doesn't even declare tax and all we have us estimates.

Property and real estate business is a big deal in our major cities, mega projects like Bahria Town in Karachi are shooting like mushrooms all over the country. Commodity prices are all time high, still its hard to book a plot in the newly developed areas. There is money, lots of it but most of it is unaccounted for.
 

ezsasa

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I concur, the GDP is heavily underrated and if my govt applied the same formula as India did earlier this year, ie bringing in the informal sector and recalculate the sale of industrial goods such as cars, ac's, refrigerators, cellphones etc and update the CPI base year from 2004 to 2014, the total value may well exceed $500 billion.
And I am not even taking about the black market which is believed to be 50% of the current GDP.

Pakistan has a huge laborforce, 80+ million people have work but only 0.5% pay taxes.
This means that the majority doesn't even declare tax and all we have us estimates.

Property and real estate business is a big deal in our major cities, mega projects like Bahria Town in Karachi are shooting like mushrooms all over the country. Commodity prices are all time high, still its hard to book a plot in the newly developed areas. There is money, lots of it but most of it is unaccounted for.
For all this to happen, you guys must first throw feudal lords out of power.

Economic reform is far off, first start with population census atleast.
 
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Mikesingh

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Three huge problems that that the Pakis and Chinese are glossing over:

Water shortage

A massive problem which has been overlooked and, if not addressed, could jeopardize the whole project – the water crisis in Gwadar. Locals don’t have water to drink. If ordinary residents who have lived there for decades do not have clean drinking water — a scarce commodity in that part of the country because of the failure of successive regimes to address this problem — then any mega construction project is going to face a huge water-shortage problem.

It is unthinkable that CPEC would just ignore an issue that links the future development and success of this entire endeavor to the fate of a once sleepy fishing harbor. It needs to incorporate the critical issue of water supply into the detailed plan for Gwadar.

It seems the only viable option for dealing with the water crisis for the moment is to harness the water from the Arabian Sea through desalination plants which, although expensive, will be indispensable in supporting any credible development enterprise. The one desalination plant that exists in Gwardar, Kurwat, was intended to provide 2 million gallons of drinking water per day but it was only providing 0.3 million gallons per day during the 2015-2016 drought because of the high cost of operating the plant. Instead, people had to try to bring water tanks in at a cost of 15,000-18,000 rupees PKR ($150-180) per tank — something most of the locals could ill afford.

Building dams on a fast track could cater to future increased water demand. At the moment, the Ankara Dam is the only source of supply, but this dam has already reached its end and may run dry in a few years. The dam capacity at the time construction was completed in September 1995 was 17,000 acres — 11,000 acres of live storage and 6,000 acres of dead storage (storage at the bottom, below the minimum level that can be drained by gravity through a dam’s outlet, and which therefore must be pumped out). The depth of the dam’s reservoir was 50 feet, but after 21 years it has been reduced to only 20 feet because of silt accumulation.

Ignoring the water crisis that Gwadar is facing, Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s planning minister, has instead announced that two new dams — the Diamer-Bhasha Dam (in Gilgit Baltistan) and the Dasu Dam (in Khyber Pathunkwa) — would be built under the CPEC project at a total cost of $26 billion.

But what about Gwadar? It's dry as a bone!

Insurgency

Balochistan continues to suffer from insurgency and political unrest; there are serious concerns about the lack of support for the project from the local people, who have always demanded that they be given rights to their own local resources.

And the question is: What is Pakistan going to use the motorway for? Exporting cotton underwear and vests? The cost of transportation will be more than the value of goods being transported! And they don't produce any high value goods!

Power Projects

Chinese discarded coal fired plants are being transferred to Pakistan while China is going in for clean energy. The resultant pollution and lack of coal is going to push energy prices to braking point. The ordinary Pakistan now pays about Rs 7 per unit PKR. He will be forced to pay Rs 18-21 per unit! How many would be able to afford this?

The Chinese companies have borrowed heavily from the Chinese Central Bank and other Chinese lending agencies which they have to pay back with interest. Where are they going to get the money to do that? From the Pakistani of course!! There are no freebies.

In short, the Pakistanis are being made suckers by their sweeter than honey friends!
 

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Pakis already writing off Gwadar? CPEC focus shifting to Karachi port!

Questions raised over fate of Gwadar port
SYED IRFAN RAZA — UPDATED ABOUT 14 HOURS AGO

ISLAMABAD: A Senate special committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has prepared its third report on the project raising questions over the fate of the Gwadar port.
The committee, which met at the Parliament House on Wednesday, termed the port project a “non-starter” and claimed that the corridor’s 1,674km western route covering the areas of Burhan/Hakla, D.I. Khan, Zhob, Quetta, Sohrab, Bisma, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar was the least priority of the government.
Talking to Dawn, the special committee’s chairman Senator Taj Haider said that more recommendations were made at the meeting which would be incorporated in the final report and after that it would be presented before the Senate.
He said the government was utilising its resources for upgrade of the existing port of Karachi instead of developing the partly constructed Gwadar port. “The government’s claim regarding completion of the Gwadar port is mere eyewash,” he said.
“Four deep sea berths that are 16 metres deep at low tide have already been built at the Karachi port. Another six are in advanced stages of construction. With the completion of a six-lane motorway on the eastern route, all traffic from China and inland Pakistan will naturally flow on the eastern route and will use the deep sea berths of the Karachi port.
“The agreed western route with its narrow two-lane road and the Gwadar port where construction of deep sea berths is presently only on pre-feasibility stage remains a non-starter,” the report said.
The Senate committee noted that there were many indications on ground which suggested that the agreed western route was not being given priority as per promise publicly made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Jan 15 this year, while work on the eastern route and Peshawar-Karachi Main Line 1 of railways was progressing on a fast pace and construction of a six-lane motorway on the eastern route was expected to be completed at a very early date.
“The special committee expressed serious concern that up till now a shroud of secrecy hangs around major decisions taken by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of China and Pakistan. There are reports that the JCC has excluded the agreed western route from its programme. The ground facts brought before the special committee further strengthen this apprehension. The committee has directed the Ministry of Planning and Development to share with it the MoU of JCC and the minutes of the JCC meetings,” the report said.
The committee’s chairman said the western route was not being constructed beyond D.I. Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan. “An amount of Rs124 billion announced for the Burhan-D.I. Khan section is being spent in Punjab as the section is situated in the province. Notwithstanding the fact that this section confirms to the CPEC concept and philosophy of choosing the shortest alignment, this section completely bypasses Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.
The committee also took notice of the physical obstruction in the shape of mountain between D.I. Khan and Zhob and regretted that the problem of constructing a motorway that ran across this obstacle had not been accorded serious consideration by the National Highways Authority. “What can be the engineering solutions? Does an alternative exist? How long will it take to materialise the most feasible engineering solution?” the committee asked.
The committee was of the opinion that the entire CPEC route could not be held hostage to one single obstacle on agreed alignment and directed the NHA to submit a clear-cut plan to build a motorway through this obstacle at the earliest.
The committee praised the railways ministry for executing railway projects which did not fall under CPEC. “The special committee wishes to record its deep appreciation of the fact that the Ministry of Railways on its own initiative has undertaken to build a railway line that will connect Peshawar with Gwadar.
From D.I. Khan to Gwadar this planned railway line shall follow the alignment of the agreed western corridor.
The Ministry of Railways plans to upgrade the abandoned pre-independence railway tracks to the required technical standards and to lay new tracks on the sections where these have not existed earlier,” the report said.
The committee regretted that no new power plants had been planned along the agreed western route. “There is the Suki Kinari hydropower project of 870MW on the one end and then almost after 1,700km there is the thermal 300MW Gwadar power plant. Power plants of high generation capacity are included in CPEC, but these are situated at places far away from the agreed western route,” the report said
http://www.dawn.com/news/1286840/questions-raised-over-fate-of-gwadar-port

This not by a think tank or an opposition allegation - this by a Senate committee tasked on cpec. Looks like pakis are feeling the heat in Balochistan and are refusing to commit. Also looks chinkies have had enough of their own hot & sour hallal by BLA. Makes IN's task easier to blockade 1 port instead of 2.
 

ezsasa

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Pakis already writing off Gwadar? CPEC focus shifting to Karachi port!

Questions raised over fate of Gwadar port
SYED IRFAN RAZA — UPDATED ABOUT 14 HOURS AGO

ISLAMABAD: A Senate special committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has prepared its third report on the project raising questions over the fate of the Gwadar port.
The committee, which met at the Parliament House on Wednesday, termed the port project a “non-starter” and claimed that the corridor’s 1,674km western route covering the areas of Burhan/Hakla, D.I. Khan, Zhob, Quetta, Sohrab, Bisma, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar was the least priority of the government.
Talking to Dawn, the special committee’s chairman Senator Taj Haider said that more recommendations were made at the meeting which would be incorporated in the final report and after that it would be presented before the Senate.
He said the government was utilising its resources for upgrade of the existing port of Karachi instead of developing the partly constructed Gwadar port. “The government’s claim regarding completion of the Gwadar port is mere eyewash,” he said.
“Four deep sea berths that are 16 metres deep at low tide have already been built at the Karachi port. Another six are in advanced stages of construction. With the completion of a six-lane motorway on the eastern route, all traffic from China and inland Pakistan will naturally flow on the eastern route and will use the deep sea berths of the Karachi port.
“The agreed western route with its narrow two-lane road and the Gwadar port where construction of deep sea berths is presently only on pre-feasibility stage remains a non-starter,” the report said.
The Senate committee noted that there were many indications on ground which suggested that the agreed western route was not being given priority as per promise publicly made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Jan 15 this year, while work on the eastern route and Peshawar-Karachi Main Line 1 of railways was progressing on a fast pace and construction of a six-lane motorway on the eastern route was expected to be completed at a very early date.
“The special committee expressed serious concern that up till now a shroud of secrecy hangs around major decisions taken by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of China and Pakistan. There are reports that the JCC has excluded the agreed western route from its programme. The ground facts brought before the special committee further strengthen this apprehension. The committee has directed the Ministry of Planning and Development to share with it the MoU of JCC and the minutes of the JCC meetings,” the report said.
The committee’s chairman said the western route was not being constructed beyond D.I. Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan. “An amount of Rs124 billion announced for the Burhan-D.I. Khan section is being spent in Punjab as the section is situated in the province. Notwithstanding the fact that this section confirms to the CPEC concept and philosophy of choosing the shortest alignment, this section completely bypasses Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.
The committee also took notice of the physical obstruction in the shape of mountain between D.I. Khan and Zhob and regretted that the problem of constructing a motorway that ran across this obstacle had not been accorded serious consideration by the National Highways Authority. “What can be the engineering solutions? Does an alternative exist? How long will it take to materialise the most feasible engineering solution?” the committee asked.
The committee was of the opinion that the entire CPEC route could not be held hostage to one single obstacle on agreed alignment and directed the NHA to submit a clear-cut plan to build a motorway through this obstacle at the earliest.
The committee praised the railways ministry for executing railway projects which did not fall under CPEC. “The special committee wishes to record its deep appreciation of the fact that the Ministry of Railways on its own initiative has undertaken to build a railway line that will connect Peshawar with Gwadar.
From D.I. Khan to Gwadar this planned railway line shall follow the alignment of the agreed western corridor.
The Ministry of Railways plans to upgrade the abandoned pre-independence railway tracks to the required technical standards and to lay new tracks on the sections where these have not existed earlier,” the report said.
The committee regretted that no new power plants had been planned along the agreed western route. “There is the Suki Kinari hydropower project of 870MW on the one end and then almost after 1,700km there is the thermal 300MW Gwadar power plant. Power plants of high generation capacity are included in CPEC, but these are situated at places far away from the agreed western route,” the report said
http://www.dawn.com/news/1286840/questions-raised-over-fate-of-gwadar-port

This not by a think tank or an opposition allegation - this by a Senate committee tasked on cpec. Looks like pakis are feeling the heat in Balochistan and are refusing to commit. Also looks chinkies have had enough of their own hot & sour hallal by BLA. Makes IN's task easier to blockade 1 port instead of 2.
If true, CPEC comes into MQM domain.. even more fun.. Jai sindhudesh
 

airtel

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Impediments to CPEC projects
— Published Oct 04, 2016 12:59pm




IT appears the bouquet of power-sector projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has hit a number of road blocks of late. The latest in a series of snags that these projects have run into is the Matiari to Lahore transmission line, the first private-sector initiative in power transmission that Pakistan has seen. The line is vital to the overall CPEC vision because it will carry additional power to be generated under numerous other CPEC power-generation projects in Sindh, including Tharparkar and Hub in Karachi. If the line is not built, that additional generation capacity will have no means to get to load centres in Punjab, rendering it redundant:biggrin2::biggrin2:. Given the $2.1bn cost of the line, the Chinese were asked to build the project, but the tariff that they wanted was higher than what the regulator, Nepra, could allow :devil::devil::devil:. The net result has been a stalemate of sorts for almost a year now:hail::hail:. In August, Nepra approved a tariff of 71 paisa per unit, but the Chinese want a tariff of 95 paisa instead, 30pc higher:rofl::rofl:, and the government is spinning all its wheels to persuade the regulator to grant the revised tariff.:crying::crying::crying:

This is not the first time that we have seen a large CPEC project run into financial difficulties. Earlier, the complex of power plants envisioned at Gadani was scrapped because of the costs of building the jetty. Many investments in the Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park in Punjab have landed up in litigation because the government cannot honour the upfront solar tariff it offered to woo the Chinese. A large coal-fired power plant to be built in Kallar Kahar has also been scrapped due to an escalation in cost, while the Thar coal plants have landed up in litigation because of the costs of compliance with environmental regulations.

The fact that all of these were scrapped at advanced stages of execution shows the lack of foresight while highlighting the abundance of triumphant rhetoric under which these projects were being carried out. In almost every case, it is being discovered that the hidden costs are large enough to erode whatever cost advantages the projects are supposed to bring:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:. Accommodating these costs in every case runs the risk of creating a separate class of investor in the power sector that enjoys privileged access to the sector’s resources :scared2::scared2::scared2:, from revolving funds to dollar-denominated settlement and a special security force. This situation must be avoided to safeguard the future integrity of power-sector investments. And the temptation to simply pass all these costs on to the consumers must also be resisted. If the investment coming under CPEC cannot justify itself on financial grounds, then it is worth considering why we should go down this path rather than walk the hard road of power reforms to promote competitiveness instead.

Published in Dawn October 4th, 2016
 

DingDong

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Chinese engineers and workers are genuine targets. I hope that the Human cost extracted by the freedom fighters of Baluchistan will instill some sense back into CCP, South Asia is not Africa, this is India's playground and all trespassers will get shot.

CPEC or whatever offshoot of it is a threat to India's sovereignty. POK is India's territory, China is the aggressor and India will rightfully use whatever tool does she have at her disposal to eliminate this treat.
 

rock127

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Paki Leader says that CPEC = China Pakistan Punjab Economic Corridor

:lol:

Nawaz Sharif responsible for Pakistan's diplomatic isolation, Aitzaz tells joint session
Dawn.com — Updated about an hour ago

ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan addressing a joint session of parliament on Thursday held Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responsible for Pakistan's diplomatic isolation.

"If this is not a failure of our foreign ministry, then what is it?" he asked.

The senator said that because the prime minister himself is the foreign minister, Pakistan's isolation could be seen as Nawaz Sharif's personal failure.

"Nawaz Sharif did not anticipate the Uri attack. Our defence minister said that perhaps India did it themselves to divert attention away from Kashmir."I agree it is possible, but then why is it Pakistan, who is isolated now? It is because you have given freedom to non-state actors."

Aitzaz called on the government to fight the India Waters Treaty case and present Pakistan's stance on Kashmir."We are with you," he said, reiterating the party's earlier stance of unity with the government on the Kashmir issue.

He slammed the focus on Punjab in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). "The impression that CPEC is the China Punjab Economic Corridor is not acceptable to us. The $46 billion CPEC investment is not more important than national unity," he said.

Echoing PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's views on Panamagate, Aitzaz said that the party has presented a bill in Senate which would allow the PM to clear his and his family's name in the Panama Papers scandal.
======================================================================================
@airtel @aditya10r @Abhijat @A chauhan @Alien @alphacentury @Ancient Indian @Ankit Purohit @anupamsurey @armyofhind @Bharat Ek Khoj @blueblood @brational @Bangalorean @Blackwater @Bornubus @bose @cobra commando @DingDong @DFI_COAS @ersakthivel @fooLIam @gpawar @guru-dutt @hit&run @HariPrasad-1 @Indx TechStyle @jackprince @Kharavela @Illusive @I_PLAY_BAD @LETHALFORCE @Lions Of Punjab @maomao @Mad Indian @OneGrimPilgrim @Peter @piKacHHu @pmaitra @porky_kicker @Razor @raja696 @Rowdy @Sakal Gharelu Ustad @saty @sydsnyper @Srinivas_K @Screambowl @sorcerer @Simple_Guy @Sylex21 @wickedone @tarunraju @TrueSpirit2 @thethinker @Tshering22 @vayuu1 @VIP @Vishwarupa @VIP @Varahamihira @roma @Navnit Kundu @WARREN SS

Our esteemed Terrorist Paki Panel: @Neo @Raja.pakistani @Zarvan @musalman @Zulfiqar Khan

You want ONLY Paki Panjab to develop and ignore other parts since your FAT ASS Pussy Generals would earn.

This is because you already know that Balochistan/Sindh/NW would get freedom soon??? :rofl:
 

aditya10r

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Paki Leader says that CPEC = China Pakistan Punjab Economic Corridor

:lol:

Nawaz Sharif responsible for Pakistan's diplomatic isolation, Aitzaz tells joint session
Dawn.com — Updated about an hour ago

ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan addressing a joint session of parliament on Thursday held Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responsible for Pakistan's diplomatic isolation.

"If this is not a failure of our foreign ministry, then what is it?" he asked.

The senator said that because the prime minister himself is the foreign minister, Pakistan's isolation could be seen as Nawaz Sharif's personal failure.

"Nawaz Sharif did not anticipate the Uri attack. Our defence minister said that perhaps India did it themselves to divert attention away from Kashmir."I agree it is possible, but then why is it Pakistan, who is isolated now? It is because you have given freedom to non-state actors."

Aitzaz called on the government to fight the India Waters Treaty case and present Pakistan's stance on Kashmir."We are with you," he said, reiterating the party's earlier stance of unity with the government on the Kashmir issue.

He slammed the focus on Punjab in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). "The impression that CPEC is the China Punjab Economic Corridor is not acceptable to us. The $46 billion CPEC investment is not more important than national unity," he said.

Echoing PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's views on Panamagate, Aitzaz said that the party has presented a bill in Senate which would allow the PM to clear his and his family's name in the Panama Papers scandal.
======================================================================================
@airtel @aditya10r @Abhijat @A chauhan @Alien @alphacentury @Ancient Indian @Ankit Purohit @anupamsurey @armyofhind @Bharat Ek Khoj @blueblood @brational @Bangalorean @Blackwater @Bornubus @bose @cobra commando @DingDong @DFI_COAS @ersakthivel @fooLIam @gpawar @guru-dutt @hit&run @HariPrasad-1 @Indx TechStyle @jackprince @Kharavela @Illusive @I_PLAY_BAD @LETHALFORCE @Lions Of Punjab @maomao @Mad Indian @OneGrimPilgrim @Peter @piKacHHu @pmaitra @porky_kicker @Razor @raja696 @Rowdy @Sakal Gharelu Ustad @saty @sydsnyper @Srinivas_K @Screambowl @sorcerer @Simple_Guy @Sylex21 @wickedone @tarunraju @TrueSpirit2 @thethinker @Tshering22 @vayuu1 @VIP @Vishwarupa @VIP @Varahamihira @roma @Navnit Kundu @WARREN SS

Our esteemed Terrorist Paki Panel: @Neo @Raja.pakistani @Zarvan @musalman @Zulfiqar Khan

You want ONLY Paki Panjab to develop and ignore other parts since your FAT ASS Pussy Generals would earn.

This is because you already know that Balochistan/Sindh/NW would get freedom soon??? :rofl:
if this is not the oppression of innocent balochis then dont know in what world these goat fuckers live in

FREE BALOCHISTAN
FREE SINDHUDESH
FREE PASHTUNISTAN

BALTITSTAN BANEGA HINDUSTAN

PAKISTAN BANEGA LULLISTAN

i demand free sindh
long live the resistance
 

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