CARETAKER Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as ‘once-in-a-century opportunity’ saying Pakistan is focusing on the second phase of the project to attain rapid economic and industrial growth. In an interview with China’s Phoenix TV aired on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the CPEC initiated under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had helped Pakistan witness significant development in diverse sectors. On the significance of BRI, Kakar said the unique opportunity and transformation would not be restricted to Pakistan but would extend to the region with the development of north-south roads and rail and road networks.
The Prime Minister’s clarity of thought on the historic initiative of CPEC, the flagship project of the BRI, augurs well for the country as it reflects commitment of the decision-making circles to pursue the CPEC with renewed zeal. This is significant in view of the myopic policy adopted during the entire tenure of the PTI Government when a go slow attitude was witnessed due to foreign pressure which was an attempt to deprive Pakistan of the opportunity to come out of the vicious cycle of backwardness. Prime Minister Kakar, who had firsthand knowledge of development and growth of China during his recent visit to the friendly country, said he was mesmerized by the impressive journey of progress and that the impression he gained would make him the biggest ambassador of Pakistan-China friendship. What the Prime Minister said was not verbose as he went to Beijing after necessary preparations leading to signing of a number of agreements between the two countries to strengthen their cooperation under the framework of the CPEC. Being a witness to the economic transformation taking place in his native province – Balochistan – where the CPEC projects and programmes are contributing a lot in improving lives of the people, the PM’s emphasis on forging bilateral cooperation under the banner of CPEC becomes quite understandable. The infrastructure development is not only linking the backward province with the rest of the country but would also enable it to play a pivotal role in overall national growth and development. The caretaker set-up has a limited time at its disposal but it is hoped that the next government will also accord the CPEC the same level of priority as the incumbent PM to fully exploit this ‘once-in-a-century’ opportunity.
