Year 2016 has ended in all fairness ended on a very positive, friendly, warmth, cordiality and welcome note. This is with reference to rare show of national consensus displayed by the top representatives of the federal and provincial governments of Pakistan on the occasion of Joint Cooperation Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) held in Being during the last week. The rare show of national consensus and goodwill spirit between Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal and four Chief Ministers Shebaz Sharif of Punjab,Syed Murad Ali Shah of Sindh, Pervez Khattak of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah (KPK) and Sanaullah Zehri of Balochistan was quite visible during the CPEC JCC deliberations and even afterwards and all this augurs well.
It was for the first time also that Chief Ministers of the four provinces were in Beijing to attend the high decision making body of the game-changer CPEC unlike previously when only the Punjab Chief Minister was invited.
Without going into the details of decisions taken to the satisfaction of both sides particularly the Chief Ministers of Sindh and KPK, who were so far complaining that CPEC project is heavily tilted towards Punjab and small provinces are being ignored somehow and got their demanded projects in various sectors within the framework of the CPEC, this is to pray and wish at the start of New Year 2017 that this are show of national consensus should be sustained for the overall national interests of the nation and the country and goodwill spirit of cooperation and accommodation of each others point of view should also be upheld and continue within Pakistan and should not end on the federal and provincial top representative on their return home from China. As reported in the media, the people of Pakistan would certainly and surely love to see their warm hugs, double handshakes and embraces again and again followed up within the country as this will go a long way in promoting and strengthening national integration, unity and solidarity, please.
M.Z.RIFAT
LAHORE