Pakistan and China have decided to make water security as part of the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project to ward off the growing Indian threats, which it is hurling to rescind the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960. A decision to concentrate on water security was taken during the sixth meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee between the two countries to fully exploit the hydel potentials of the country. The committee also decided to make the mass transit projects of all the four provinces as part of the corridor project and their modalities will completed in one year. The CPEC is the last hope for the nation to achieve progress and prosperity, but rumours are spread from various quarters on the behest of India to sabotage the project. Earlier, concerns were expressed on the rumours that energy projects worth $7 billion will be cancelled. However, Ahsan Iqbal, the minister for planning and development, expressed his satisfaction on the pace of work as both Pakistan and China are executing the projects with a sense of mission and responsibility.
The news reports suggested that the sponsors were considering axing five energy projects, which were to be completed by December 2018. If the projects were terminated, Sindh would be deprived of half of its share in the mega project and Balochistan’s share would also fall to $7 billion. However, Pakistan is ready to take all possible steps to use Indus water which is a source of more than 17 gigawatts of hydropower capacity. Pakistan is fully dependent on the Indus river due to the fact that it irrigates over 90 percent of the agricultural land in the country. There is a need to beware of threats emanating from India and its stooges in Afghanistan as the two are opposed to any development in Pakistan, including the Chinese investment in the country. The Indian government is flooding dollars into Pakistan to politicize the project and unfortunately some nationalist political parties are allegedly supporting Indian stance and are causing damage to the country’s economy.
Earlier, the United States had openly opposed the construction of the Pak-Iran gas pipeline at a time when the country was facing severe electricity shortage. In one of its report, the Asian Development Bank also highlighted this issue and this is a point to ponder for those elements who live in Pakistan but work for the enemy.
Despite all odds, Pakistan’s economy is growing at a fast rate but electricity shortage is the main hurdle in the expansion of industry. It is hoped that the government will take bold decisions to offset all the pressures on the corridor project.
