While Imran Khan looks excited over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Gilgit-Baltistan, also known as the Gateway to CPEC, continues to remain neglected as the Prime Minister siphoned off allotted cash and projects to other regions.
According to an article titled 'The Gateway to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Is Closing' by Michael Rubin published in The National Interest, while the CPEC has saddled Pakistan with debt, it has not lived up to its ambitions, leaving Pakistan to face the inevitability of mortgaging sovereignty further to China or international financial institutions.
While the inclusion of Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan is illegal, the region, which is touted as the 'Gateway to CPEC', has become the symbol of CPEC's "false promises to the already neglected region".
According to The National Interest, while Gilgit is geographically essential to CPEC's success and Pakistani authorities pledged development along the highway, none materialized.
Similarly, the opportunities for education, employment and welfare that were promised under the CPEC never saw the light of the day.
While Gilgit-Baltistan suffers, Pakistan's major political parties have directed most of the alloted-money and associated projects to their own favoured regions in Sindh, Punjab among others. The best example of this is when Imran Khan canceled plans for Gilgit-Chitral road to favour a four-lane 50-mile highway between Chakdara to Fatehpur in Swat.
According to The National Interest, for Gilgit-Baltistan the problem has not only been a failure to reap benefits from CPEC but also that Khan's desire to please China has meant a net loss. While Pakistan, at the behest of China, had canceled the licenses of local miners, the Chinese contractors displaced thousands of residents without giving them compensation.
The author has opined that Imran Khan's behaviour towards the Gilgit-Baltistan region will affect the CPEC adversely. By siphoning off funds from the Gilgit-Chitral road, the region continues to be dependent on a single highway, which the locals can easily block to protest against the government.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU