An All Parties Conference (APC) to discuss the reservations of Balochistan regarding China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project hosted by Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal was held on Sunday during which the government was urged to address the reservations of the province over the multi-billion-dollar project.
The APC was attended by key political figures including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Farhatullah Babar, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, PML-N leader Raja Zafarul-Haq, Senate Deputy Chairman and JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, JUI-F’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain and ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Ahmed among others.
The speakers emphasised on timely completion of CPEC routes, urging the government to address Balochistan’s reservations over the corridor.
They were of the view that CPEC is a project of national interest which would help open new avenues of development and progress in the region besides ensuring economic stability of the country and uplifting the lives of the common man.
The speakers said that it was high time to develop a consensus on CPEC and that no province should be deprived of its share in the benefits of the project as neglecting any province will raise sense of deprivation among the masses.
Earlier, on Saturday, China urged Pakistani political parties to develop consensus and to resolve their differences to create favourable conditions for the economic corridor project.
“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the consensus reached between China and Pakistan, and has won popular support from the two peoples,” a spokesman of the Chinese Embassy said in a statement. He said that the project was one for the country as a whole and would bring development and benefits to the people of Pakistan. “We hope that the relevant parties could strengthen communication and coordination and solve differences properly so as to create favourable conditions for the CPEC. We are ready to work with the Pakistani side to actively promote construction of the CPEC projects and bring tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries.”