CPEC Project

People of Balochistan are rising up in protests across Pakistan province, threatening stumbling country, challenging politicised army and upsetting Chinese dreams of a transnational corridor project

Sensing Pakistan's discomfort, China has given a quiet approval to the Sharif government's decision to scrap the CPEC Authority-set up during his predecessor Imran Khan's government

Pakistan is reviewing a proposal to receive upfront 20 per cent of the total cost of five China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects as deposits in the central bank in a bid to get breathing space amid declining foreign exchange reserves, a media report said on Sunday. The proposal has been discussed at the highest level as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given instruction to further fine-tune it, a Cabinet minister told The Express Tribune. He said that at least five CPEC projects were discussed during a meeting, having a total estimated value of USD 7 billion. Under the proposal, Pakistan can receive at least USD 1.4 billion in its central bank out of the total cost of USD 7 billion. In return, these five projects that are facing years of delay will be put on the fast track for implementation. Pakistan's gross official foreign exchange reserves have dipped below USD 8 billion and will get a USD 1.2 billion boost by the end of this month once the International Monetary Fun

China is now forced to reconsider the future of its financial and manpower investments in Pakistan.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that under the new government, there would be a broad based acceleration in the Pakistan-China relations in all domains

Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team continue to promote the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor terming it 'beneficial to the country', said Dr Shabir Choudhry

China has established its first diplomatic contact with the militant group, aimed at pushing forward its ambitious project -- the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) -- to Kabul.

The CPEC would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port (626 kilometers, 389 miles west of Karachi) in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region

Iqbal said the Opposition had decided to launch the movement for the supremacy of the Constitution, democracy, the independent judiciary and for the security of the rights of Pakistanis

The Pakistan Army on Thursday said it was aware of the threats to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and security measures were periodically enhanced

The CPEC, a collection of infrastructure projects that are currently under construction throughout Pakistan, which were originally valued at $46 billion is now estimated to be $87 billion

Khan's commerce advisor Razak said: "The US has shown interest in (Pakistan's) energy, oil and gas, agriculture and food processing"

The United States has been critical of the CPEC projects in Pakistan

In-charge of South Asia affairs at the US State Department, Alice Wells, last week said that the CPEC would take a toll on Pakistan's economy in future

The Belt and Road Initiative, a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe.

The planning minister stated that copper and mineral development would benefit both the countries as China remained one of the largest copper importers

Book review of THE BATTLE FOR PAKISTAN: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood

The CPEC project is also a part of China's 'Belt and Road Initiative', a vast infrastructure and trade programme to project China's infrastructural dominance abroad