Beijing: Politics has changed in Pakistan. The new government has now made preparations to give a big blow to friend China. Actually, the government of Shehbaz Sharif in Pakistan has started a process to abolish the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPEC). Pakistan’s planning minister said it was a “needless organization” that had wasted resources and thwarted the speedy implementation of the ambitious regional connectivity program.
According to ‘The Express Tribune’ newspaper, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal ordered the authorities concerned to start the process of scrapping the authority after Chinese power producers failed to pay dues of Rs 300 billion to generate 1,980 MW. Capacity is turned off.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority, established through an ordinance in 2019, aimed to accelerate CPEC-related activities, explore new avenues of development, and open up the potential for interconnected production networks through regional and global connectivity.
The new planning minister gave this information
According to the newly appointed planning minister, his officials “will request Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for approval to abolish the CPEC authority by presenting a brief description.” Iqbal told the newspaper that the authority was a “redundant organization by which resources were diverted.” Destruction has been done, which has thwarted the speedy implementation of CPEC.
The decision to abolish the CPEC authority is in line with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) policy against the establishment of a parallel system. According to the report of ‘The Express Tribune’, the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took two years to set up the authority which remained largely inactive.
What is CPEC?
China Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC is an ambitious project of China, which passes through disputed areas like Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin. India opposes this project as it passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Mainly it is a highway and infrastructure project that will connect China’s Kashgar province with Pakistan’s Gwadar Port. Under this project, ports, highways, motorways, railways, airports, and power plants along with other infrastructure projects will be developed in Pakistan.
China is investing heavily in making CPEC. The total cost of CPEC is $46 billion (about Rs 31 lakh crore). Along with CPEC, huge investments are also being made in the infrastructure of Pakistan.
