All set for CPEC
Ordinarily, it would be difficult to find too many governments that would come under fire for projects like CPEC. The Corridor is, after, all set to change the destiny of the entire region. Pakistan, especially, will overcome not just its insufficient growth problem, but also energy issues, and issues like foreign investment, trade and tourism, etc, will no longer be problematic.
Yet PML-N has managed to come under heavy criticism regarding this project as well. KP and Balochistan are up in arms, the issue of which-route-first still causes anxiety, despite the government’s repeated assurances, and the prime minister still prefers to keep his close kitchen cabinet in the know as opposed to parliament and the rest of the country as well.
The alarm, unfortunately, is no longer just shared by the opposition in Pakistan. Lately our Chinese friends have also, finally, broken their silence about concerns surfacing in Beijing. They are anxious about the political bickering, to say the least. The Corridor is an essential part of China’s greater Silk Route Project, but it is still just one part. And it is not as if the Chinese do not have alternatives.
So why, then, the foot-dragging on such an important issue? DNA talked exclusively to Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, PML-N secretary general, about CPEC and the party’s position on other crucial matters.
Question: Keeping in view so much wrangling between political parties over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), do you think Friday’s meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif helped redress concerns of all political parties? Also, the Chinese have recently expressed concern about CPEC related political problems inside Pakistan, and urged that we overcome them as soon as possible. Why have such problems lingered so far?
Iqbal Zafar Jhagra: Let’s agree on one thing first, that CPEC is in the interest of the future generations of both China and Pakistan. All political parties strongly believe that CPEC is a game-changing initiative, which is the key for economic development and uplift of the status of the people across Pakistan. So one needs to understand there is no difference among political parties about CPEC.
Yes, there were some doubts and concerns among political parties, especially from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, about the western route and the location of related projects. The federal government has been seriously working in recent past to address these concerns.
However, during recent weeks, political parties from both the provinces expressed concerns regarding their share in CPEC. Initially, an All Parties Conference (APC) was held at the Governor House Peshawar to help remove the misunderstandings.
On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself invited political leaders at the PM House and told them that the western route was priority number-one for the government
Later two more APCs were held by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M). The PML-N attended all these well-attended meetings. We gave detailed briefings to present a holistic picture of CPEC.
On Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself invited political leaders at the PM House and told them that the western route was priority number-one for the government. The meeting was attended by representatives of all political forces who sat with the prime minister and shared their concerns and reservations. The premier has satisfied all the parties that the four provinces would be given their due share in CPEC. He also promised to redress their grievances. He told the politicians that the federal government would fulfil reasonable demands of all political parties.
During the meeting, the political parties desired the prime minister to head the parliamentary committee to look into the projects related to CPEC and ensure amicable distribution of the fruits among the people of the four provinces. The premier assured the meeting to consider their proposal.
It was also decided that the committee would meet every three months and monitor the smooth implementation over the commitments made by the prime minister himself.
All the political parties were satisfied and they reiterated their support to CPEC, saying that it was the key to the transformation of the country into a stable, economically developing and secure destination for investors of the world.
The prime minister told the political leadership that CPEC was a game-changer not only for Pakistan but for the entire region. This outcome is a good message for the people of Pakistan and China.
Moreover, the world needs to understand that minor differences between political parties are the beauty of the democratic system. Such differences are weeded out through dialogue, which is the strength of a democratic dispensation.
Q: The Chinese investments will require sovereign guarantees, which experts say will push the foreign debt component to the $90b mark. That, in turn, will require exports to grow at least 50 per cent in the next four years. What do you think about these figures?
ZIJ: Look, such figures are shared by economic experts from time to time. However, the federal government has its own team of experts headed by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to carve out plans to achieve set targets. Under the minister, Pakistan’s economy has improved a lot and international monetary monitors have been issuing reports, appreciating Pakistan’s gains on the economic side. Now Pakistan’s economic achievements are recognised by the World Bank as well as the international Monitory Fund (IMF).
The economic stability will help Pakistan achieve favourable policies from the world’s strong economies and the foreign investors are now coming in hoards to benefit from Pakistan’s transforming economy.
Q: The senior PML-N leadership is criticised for keeping a close kitchen cabinet where all important matters are debated. Other than a selected few, even senior ministers are not given much attention in the party setup. And even parliament is ignored for important decisions. Why is there such a perception?
ZIJ: This premise is totally baseless and has no legs to stand on. Such false claims often harm the democratic dispensation in a country. Such propaganda is aimed at harming the country’s image and also the institutions which have started to perform again.
The PML-N led coalition government is taking all necessary steps to help stabilise the economy and strengthen democratic institutions.
Now everyone in Pakistan admits the fact that the government has delivered on almost all fronts. Even opposition leadership acknowledges the achievements of the prime minister, who led from the front in a crisis situation and got the country out of financial turmoil.
In the recent past, Pakistan was facing the serious threat from terrorism and political instability. The country fought a war against terrorists by launching the Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The prime minister put fight against terrorism as number-one priority of his government.
Now the terrorists are on the run and we have almost cleansed the Pakistani soil of them. The war goes on still though.
Moreover, on the political front, the prime minister wisely handled the sit-in staged by the opposition and amicably the government diffused the situation.
On the economic front, I have already shared the achievements of the PML-N government and now the foreign investors and financial institutions are aiming to invest in Pakistan.
Another challenge Pakistan faced was the scarcity of energy. The prime minister had promised to the nation to put energy crisis as his top priority. When PML-N formed the government, energy issue became its top priority.
CPEC would greatly help alleviate the energy crisis as 83 per cent projects under it are to generate energy. We plan to add at least 10,500 megawatts to the national grid by 2018. So we would be out of the woods by then, making sure that we have surplus energy to help boost economic growth when the PML-N government ends its five-year term.
Q: There is chatter that a Karachi like Rangers operation is on the cards in Punjab. Yet the provincial PML-N leadership is opposed to such a course, even though it has not been able to move at all against militant dens, especially in the south. How do you see things proceeding?
ZIJ: You know that the terrorism threat is a major challenge not only for Pakistan but for the entire region. Recent attacks in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan have again reminded us that the terrorism is a grave challenge for all the states of the region.
There is going to be a major breakthrough in relations with our neighbours in year 2016 in comparison to what we had in 2015
However, the Punjab government over the past eight years has proved its ability to deal with the menace of terror successfully. The Punjab government of Mian Shehbaz Sharif has shown its ability to thwart nefarious designs of terrorists.
However, having said so, let me tell you that Punjab has taken all necessary steps to ensure no place for terrorist outfits and a secure and safe place for the people at large. I would go to the extent that whenever needed, the Punjab government can seek assistance from the security forces. At least these are our own law enforcing agencies – whether these are Rangers or the army itself, whenever required, they can be called in aid to the civilian government to ensure safety and security of the people of Punjab.
Q: Dialogue with both Afghanistan and India are at crucial stages, yet there are setbacks in both. How do you see the two progressing in 2016?
ZIJ: Let me tell you that there is going to be a major breakthrough in relations with our neighbours in year 2016 in comparison to what we had in 2015.
Especially, there is a significant improvement in relations with Afghanistan. One needs to understand that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif believes that peace in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistan, and peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan is peace in the entire region. So we are going all out to help secure the Afghan peace process.
Moreover, our relations with India have also improved a lot and a new trust building process has set in. Pakistan and India share a history of diplomatic fallouts and border skirmishes mainly due to the unresolved issue of held Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the United Nations resolutions, India was bound to hold plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, which has still not materialised. However, recent interaction between the two prime ministers has yielded positive results. We witnessed some negative signals from India in 2015 as border skirmishes and public threats were made from across the border. Even the attitude of Indian Prime Minister Modi was not friendly towards Pakistan.
Despite provocative incidents in India, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the past three years has observed restraint and diplomatic channels have been used to remove misunderstandings. We strongly believe in sorting out issues through dialogue rather than using force.
The positive attitude of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif compelled premier Modi to revisit his Pakistan policy. I strongly believe that friendly relations between Pakistan and India can greatly help stabilise regional security. If this region is stable, no one can stop fast economic growth in the South Asia region, which has great potential for economic development.
