ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani on Monday said it looked as if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was trying to “weaken the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)”.
Speaking during a debate held in the Senate on the government’s performance on the economic front, Rabbani said there was news that suggested the CPEC projects were being reviewed.
Questioning if China was taken into confidence before bringing Saudi Arabia into the CPEC, he asked, “If taken in the loop, what did China say about the matter?”
He said the parliament too should have been taken into confidence before inviting Saudi Arabia to become the third partner in CPEC and said that no statement was issued from the prime minister, except that Saudi Arabia had been offered to set up an oil refinery in Gwadar.
About the Reko Dik project, Rabbani said the leaders in Balochistan should have been taken on board since Reko Dik was situated in the province.
He added all this meant violation of the constitution.
Other senators belonging to opposition parties also raised objections over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to make Saudi Arabia a partner in the CPEC and to hand it over the Reko Dik mine project.
