EDITORIAL:
Saner View on CPEC:
A subcommittee of the Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Thursday called for initiating need-based projects with tangible end results under the $1 billion Chinese government grant for socio-economic development of the country. The lawmakers also stressed the need for ensuring maximum adherence to timelines of the projects initiated under CPEC.
The Committees of Parliament, composed of elected representatives of the people, have an important role to play but unfortunately, due attention has not been paid to proper evolution of the Committee system and their methodological working. In other countries, such Committees perform a crucial role as their working is backed by proper research and input from all stakeholders. Their usefulness is evident from the proceedings of the subcommittee with Noor Alam Khan in the chair, which took a saner view of the issues surrounding CPEC projects.
There is universal consensus in Pakistan that CPEC is contributing immensely to the socio-economic development of different regions of the country and accelerate the pace of economic growth of Pakistan. The country is faced with numerous challenges and issues and most of them remain unattended mainly because of financial constraints. People of Pakistan are thankful for the Chinese leadership for their unflinching resolve to extend the much-needed cooperation to address some of these challenges.
It is a historic opportunity to change the fate of the people by firming up, as proposed by the Committee, need-based projects and completion of all projects as per original schedule. Unfortunately, there is a tendency in Pakistan to delay implementation of projects and as a result, not only cost escalates for understandable reasons but people are also denied the intended benefits. There are consistent reports that work on some of the CPEC-related projects and programmes has slowed because of lack of due interest by the Pakistan side. The Committee has done well by highlighting the problem and hopefully, it would persist with its efforts to sensitize the authorities concerned on the issue.
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