CPEC enhances geo-strategic importance of Pakistan: Ahsan Iqbal

• Interior minister says giving power to inexperienced person is like waiting for an accident to happen

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal says China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has increased the geo-strategic importance of Pakistan bringing it into a central nodal position between Asia, South Asia and Central Asia.

Talking to news persons in Gwadar, he said that the government has kept parliament and media on board at every stage of CPEC’s development because it believes in transparency.

The minister said that CPEC is a result of alignment between Pakistan’s Vision 2025 and China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) vision with focus on building inter and intra-regional connectivity.

He said that the government has kept the parliament and media on board at every stage of CPEC’s development because it believes in transparency.

Earlier, on a visit to the coastal power hub, Ahsan instructed all concerned departments to resolve Gwadar’s war and power supply issues, as people of Gawadar are the main priority in the CPEC.

Meanwhile, addressing a public gathering in Narowal on Saturday, the interior minister said that giving power to an inexperienced man is like waiting for an accident to happen. His remarks were directed towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief for hurling derogatory remarks at the parliament.

Taking another dig at Khan, the minister said, “People in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) voted for the PTI to oversee the development of the province rather than staging sit-ins in Punjab.” Four years have passed since the Peshawar Rapid Bus Transit had been announced but no work had been carried out on the project so far, he added.

“Chairpersons of union council are more efficient in resolving the problems of the masses than him [Imran],” he said. He also said that PTI’s tirade against the parliament was not meant to humiliate the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) but the entire nation.

Both Sheikh Rashid and Imran Khan receive stipends from the parliament but still did not refrain from abusing the same institution that sustains them, he said, adding, “Cursing parliament is the same as negating the struggle for democracy in Pakistan.”