Pakistan Parliamentary Committee on CPEC seeks fool-proof security for CPEC projects, workers

Islamabad: Pakistan Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has said that CPEC projects and workers need fool-proof security.

“Issues faced by (CPEC’s) SEZs (Special Economic Zones) in terms of security measures affect businesses,” the committee said in an official statement after receiving the briefing on security measures for projects under CPEC framework in an in-camera meeting here at the Parliament House.

The meeting held under the chairmanship of Sher Ali Arbab discussed in detail the project of Mainline-1 (ML-1) with special focus on Electronic Traction (ET) component.

The meeting was attended by Noor Alam Khan, Sadaqat Ali Khan Abbasi, Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali, Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Mehnaz Akber Aziz, Zahid Akram Durrani and Muhammad Aslam Bhootani.

The committee said: “Measures which could thrive businesses in Pakistan should be made top priority because economic stability will lead to peace and security in Pakistan.”

It added: “The goals envisaged under CPEC cannot be achieved without local ownership therefore issues faced by locals in terms of security arrangements should be resolved at the earliest so that local ownership of CPEC projects could be secured. While passing through security check-posts locals as well tourists should be dealt with politeness and their self-respect should be maintained.”

The comments came after Chinese nationals were targeted in different parts of the country. Ten Chinese nationals died in the Dasu suicide attack last month. Later, a Chinese national was wounded in a gun attack in Karachi and in another strike in Gwadar, a Chinese engineer was injured. China has urged Pakistan to take measures to ensure security of the Chinese nationals who were contributing towards Pakistan’s prosperity.

The committee observed that the establishment of Special Economic Zones would be futile, if industries are not installed there timely. The issues pertaining to sale and cancellation of plots in SEZs needs to be resolved at the earliest so that the process of establishing industries in SEZs could be expedited.

The Parliamentary Committee on CPEC emphasized the need to move towards ease of doing business so as to attract massive local and foreign direct investment in Pakistan.

The committee highlighted that quarters concerned should incentivize industries in SEZs in such a way that SEZs established in Pakistan could compete with other countries in the region.

It stressed the need for early execution of the mega railway up-gradation project Mainline-1 from Peshawar to Karachi. The committee remarked that the world is increasingly moving towards adoption of modern technologies, adding Electric Traction (E.T) component in ML-1 project after 8 to 10 years would become obsolete and costly.

Given the huge benefit of E.T component in ML-1 in terms of its pay back, cost and compatibility with environment, “we need to move towards its adoption right from now and upgrade existing infrastructure of project to the electric traction,” the chair said. Moreover, apart from focusing on agriculture and industrial sector, the untapped potential in tourism should also be exploited, said the committee.

A lot of revenue and employment opportunities can be generated by establishing integrated tourism zones in the country under CPEC framework, it said.