The Pakistan government, despite the economic gloom pervading in the country, should be relieved at the economic assistance being offered by its Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Following the visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Islamabad and a hefty assistance package being announced, Saudi Arabia too has committed to building a $10 billion oil refinery in Gwadar and assisting Pakistan with financing crude imports.
This is good news.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, should serve a much larger role.
Economic conduit
Its constitution is of a transnational economic conduit that can serve many regional states.
It is also a potential goldmine that can be utilised to boost trade and serve an important political purpose of bringing the Gulf states closer to the East.
There have been incidents in the past where Chinese workers have been targeted. While the army and police have been tasked to ensure security of sensitive projects on a priority basis, more needs to be done.
The rather ambitious project of CPEC is obviously going to have some limitations when it comes to the implementation stage — given the fluctuating political environment of Pakistan and other key dynamics such as security.
However, the faith China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have invested in Pakistan despite the struggle it has gone through over the last few decades is commendable.
But one needs more than faith.
While these all-weather friendships must be lauded, more needs to be done to ensure that these relations do not sour.
For one, commitments made by Pakistan in return for the assistance in terms of delivering on security for the infrastructure development must be fully adhered to.
Critical juncture
There have been incidents in the past where Chinese workers have been targeted. While the army and police have been tasked to ensure security of sensitive projects on a priority basis, more needs to be done.
Pakistan stands at a critical juncture today. Its new government is reeling with one economic crisis after another on top of growing political uproar over the alleged targeting of its opposition leaders in corruption cases.
The strident attitude adopted by Imran Khan’s Cabinet members is a reminder of the thin line between political wrangling and gung-ho lunacy.
Ruling corruption out is a great initiative but putting together an economic team to deal with the currency deficit and inflation is the need of the hour.
Relying on billion-dollar packages, however attractive the terms, is not the panacea for this malaise afflicting Pakistan.
The same Khan was dead against carrying the ‘begging bowl’ in his words to any country for crumbs.
He was the same person who had to swallow those bitter words and make hasty trips to save the country, again his words.
The PTI’s clarification for their leader’s shuttling was simply to blame the ineptitude of the past government for the crisis Pakistan was in.
Blame game
As is the wont of all incoming regimes, it is necessary to blame the ills on the shunned.
The Pakistan government’s take on CPEC seems rather skewed. It has halted a major CPEC power plant project at Rahim Yar Khan and decided to axe what it calls politically motivated schemes that number in the hundreds in the public-sector development programme.
The Rahim Yar Khan project is being shelved to apparently provide ‘structural optimization space’ for Pakistan’s power market.
The Chinese reaction has understandably been to demand a joint optimisation study of the energy sector at the earliest. However solid the reasons behind such a decision, this does not bode well for CPEC ties.
Beijing would have expected Pakistan to have done its homework or not have a new government halting projects based on anticipated optimisation needs. It might have been better if the government had undertaken this study with its Chinese counterparts before making public announcements.
The CPEC edifice is yet fragile. There has been much targeting of this behemoth, which was touted as damaging to Pakistan’s sovereignty, the payment for letting China pay its debts, a mechanism for new colonial rule etc.
The truth is Pakistan is the one who needs to decide where it wants to take CPEC. No country could make Pakistan do anything unless it wants to.
The truth is Pakistan is the one who needs to decide where it wants to take CPEC. No country could make Pakistan do anything unless it wants to.
The problem with us is that the state becomes accountable to rulers’ whims. The deep state within, in order to protect its interests, may react when push comes to shove but as often is the case it plays along, especially when its own interests are being met.
Sovereignty
Remember the drones’ controversy?
Our sovereignty was not under any threat, we just didn’t want to accept or acknowledge that we had given the go ahead, willingly or not, to the Americans to come and bomb our hinterlands as and when they chose to do so.
But we did object to "boots on the ground" and objected strongly when exceptions happened as in Salala.
So, to those who throw about the English East India Company’s example, Pakistan’s sovereignty will not be compromised with China coming in unless we allow it to happen. Hopefully that day will not come.
CPEC for us should be an opportunity to capitalise, to deliver and to develop. It should not be an extension of the begging bowl typically ladled on to Third World states. Saudi Arabia joining CPEC as a partner can prove to be a positive development for the Gulf and China.
Pakistan as a hub for the oil and trade flows between China and the Gulf and Middle East has immense advantages. It is hoped that petty politicking will not spoil the larger interests and economic benefits this development could bring.
