CPEC & A CASE OF GILGIT-BALTISTAN

By: Rahim Shah

Now, this is a gigantic milestone in the history of Pakistan-China relations when China initiated China-Pakistan Economic Corridor a multi-billion project into Pakistan, which is not only a name of solitary road, but also it is a chain of projects . The project has a potential to turn Pakistan into a regional economic hub and the project   is of immense importance to overcome energy crises & infrastructural up gradation of the country.

The project which aims to connect Gwadar Port in Southwestern Pakistan to China’s Northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines. China showed a great confidence to invest billions of dollar even after knowing that the recent situation in country is  not so peaceful  for investment as Pakistan is fighting a decisive war against terrorism. CPEC starts from Xinxiang a western under-developed province of  China border to Gilgit-Baltistan where Uighur movement  is ongoing because this is the lonely less developed region of China .China wants speedy modernization of under-developed province Xingjian to the level of other eastern provinces of China .

It is pertinent to mention here that Gilgit-Baltistan is also a less developed region which the gateway of this mega project and significance of territory of this region is higher than other regions of Pakistan . Gilgit –Baltistan located in north most of Pakistan is an economically marginalized region which has never been formally integrated into the Pakistani state and does not participate in Pakistan’s constitutional political affairs till now is itself a tragedy.

The people of GB they have been in state of political and economical deprivation for last 70 years, the strategic importance of Gilgit-Baltistan has probably never been higher than it is today. The local population is apprehended they will not be given their duly  share, for a while if the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan is removed from the CPEC the project would be only a dream. Now it is a golden opportunity for the Federal government to take the GB region’s people into confidence as China did in under-developed province of Xinjiang.

It is a golden opportunity for the PML-N government having a majority in GBLA and Federal to redress the economic rights of the local populace to ensure speedy execution of this “game changer”  instead of compromising the basic economic and political rights of the people. The success of CPEC is only possible when the goodwill of the people of the regions through which this corridor is passing, already many big powers are in the front to sabotage   this mega project by in-sighting violence and political instability within Pakistan to fulfill their heinous objectives.

The writer is an M.Sc International Relations student and currently working in GB Civil Secretariat.