What’s going to be different this time?
The aura of secrecy created around the details of the CPEC has turned the mega development project into an explosive issue. The Prime Minister called an APC in May last to dispel the suspicions. The meeting however remained inconclusive. Efforts by government leaders like Ahsan Iqbal and visits by members of the special parliamentary committee on CPEC to Sindh and Balochistan also failed to satisfy the critics. Threats of agitation were extended in case the doubts and suspicions were not addressed. The situation even perturbed the Chinese government which desired consensus among the political parties.
Practically all parliamentary parties were represented in the APC on Friday. CM Pervez Khattak later told media that PM had held out an assurance to address the reservations. This implies an admission of the concerns being prima facie genuine and a commitment to resolve them. It would be too much to claim that the meeting has removed the concerns. The machinery devised for the purpose is a steering committee presided over by Nawaz Sharif with the four CMs as members. The committee is to meet once in three months to review the progress of the CPEC. Hopefully, the arrangement would bring more transparency to the execution of the project. In case of any violation of the assurances advanced, members would be able to raise their voice on time. For the time being the parties seem to be satisfied with the arrangement.
Not all the reservations, however, came up for consideration on Friday. Secrecy still prevails regarding the costs that CPEC projects will impose on the state in the form of repayment of loans. There are questions about non-employment of local labour and why domestic companies are not being entrusted with projects. The influx of large number of people from other provinces to man the major projects in Balochistan and its ramifications for local population remains a matter of concern for Baloch nationalists. This lends strength to the demand that the PM address the Parliament on the issue.
Forming another committee is not the proper answer for resolving issues raised over CPEC project management. This is another example of passing the buck and keep the controversies going. What is needed is a forming a Board of Experts (men of experience and international reputation) to manage the entire project with full support and approval of all provinces
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