Please note: It's nothing serious and not a long write-up on my part, i know i have missed some important topic. I have taken most of the content of the internet and have made sure to provide a source. And also note that, i am speaking in context of this region. Which also includes AJK. AJK and GB will equally benefit a lot from CPEC. It is supposed to be an informative and exciting read(hopefully). I have not looked to counter any conspiracy theories.
And as always, any suggestions are welcome. Please point out any mistakes.
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CPEC and it’s benefits to GB
BY: @WAJsal
Published on Pakistan Defense
The Karakoram mountain range, Astore Valley. — Photo by Najeeb Mahmud
Gilgit-Baltistan, also known as ‘The Jewel of Pakistan’...and rightly so, the region holds some of the most breath-taking views in the world, from the highest peaks in the world and the most number of glaciers in the world, to the most magnificent lakes in the world. Apart from the beauty, the region holds significant strategic importance, it borders Pakistan with China and will act as a gateway for the rest of Pakistan once China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor is completed.
The strategic importance of the region is a historic one, considering : Gilgit-Baltistan was a part of Jammu and Kashmir princely state before partition, and on March 29, 1935, the British government took possession of Gilgit Agency from the state government, through a lease agreement for 60 years; reasons being The British feared of the Soviet expansionist moves, and therefore wanted to have direct control in the region.
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The strategic location of the region allows Pakistan to have a direct link with China. Karakoram Highway was built in 1979, it took about 20 years to be fully completed starting in 1959 and open to traffic in 1979. The Karakoram Highway or the KKH will play a key role in China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor, being the starting point of the great vision and the project.
To be built over the next several years, the 3,218 kilometre route will connect Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to the port of Gwadar. Currently, nearly 80 per cent of China’s oil is transported by ship from the Strait of Malacca to Shanghai, a distance of more than 16,000 km, with the journey taking between two to three months. But once Gwadar begins operating, the distance would be reduced to less than 5,000 km. KKH was to be realigned, and the existing network to be grown and perfected. Number of Tunnels, bridges and new roads have already been completed.
More details here: KKH Realignment: 94% work on the project completed so far, remaining to be completed by Sep. 25 this year
New projects are also in construction process:
Gilgit-Baltistan Expressway costing Rs82 billion would be the highest road in the world and bring economic revolution in the entire region, announced Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeezur Rahman.
“An expressway costing Rs50 billion from Gilgit to Skardu will facilitate people of G-B and another from Islamabad to G-B needing capital injection of Rs82 billion will be constructed under the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor),” he said.
“The proposed Shonter-Astore road will reduce the distance between Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and G-B by several hundred kilometres and also cut travel time between the two regions,” he added.
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Highlighted in red is the route of National Highway 35, which is to be completely rebuilt and upgraded under the CPEC agreement. Highlighted in blue is the 175 kilometre road between Gilgit and Skardu which is to be upgraded to a 4-lane highway. (Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakoram_Highway#/media/File:KKHReconstructions.png)
It is also planned to make a rail link between Pakistan and China, which is a part of second phase of CPEC, and it is to be completed in 2018-2022.
Karakoram Highway route map. The Khunjerab Railway is set to travel a similar route to the pre-existing Karakoram Highway.
Land of opportunities
Being a tourism paradise CPEC is expected to boost the tourism industry in Pakistan, especially in Gilgit-Baltistan. The region is considered to be a mountaineer’s paradise, since it is home to five of the ‘eight-thousanders’ (peaks above 8,000 metres), as well as more than 50 mountains over 7,000 metres. It is also home to the world’s second highest peak K2 and the Nanga Parbat.
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The mighty Nanga Parbat soars high in the first light of the sun. —Photo by Ghulam Rasool
With improving security situation in the rest of the country and better infrastructure, this industry is expected to grow. Tourism plays a vital part for the locals in the region, most families are solely dependent on tourists. Tourism industry has never reached the potential it can mainly due to the poor infrastructure present and worsening security situation in the country. But in recent times this industry has improved and with more importance given to this sector things are expected to get better. And with CPEC going through the region, it is expected to attract more tourists.
“For a few years now, between 10,000 and 20,000 tourists would visit GB each year but in 2015, over 600,000 people visited GB and this year, it is expected that around one million people will travel to GB,” GB Tourism Secretary Jehanzeb Awan.
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Apart from the tourism industry a large chunk of the population relies on agriculture to support their living. Fruits of all sorts and dry fruits are a big part of this industry, this industry too has never really reached it potential. CPEC is bound to improve many basic thing stopping this industry from booming.
Hopes
Apples of Hunza...
With the CPEC passing through Gilgit-Baltistan, Salman hopes the route will open business opportunities for the region's traders.
Diverting fruit to China will be more profitable, for one, will be more profitable. “We can double our sales and profits if we can sell to China where cherries are very popular," Momin said.
Cherries grown in Hunza, Ghizer and other districts are popular exports to China. —Photo by Ghulam Rasool
Currently, he ships his produce to Dubai through air-cargo. "It would be faster and cheaper if we could send it by road to China via Xinjiang as we can get a one-year border pass to travel within that border," Salman explained.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Gilgit-Baltistan produces over 100,000 metric tonnes of fresh apricots annually. While there are no official surveys, Zulfiqar Momin, who heads Farm House Pvt Ltd., which exports fresh and dried fruits to the Middle East, estimates that Gilgit-Baltistan produces up to 4,000 tonnes of cherries and up to 20,000 tonnes of apples.
“All fruits grown in Gilgit-Baltistan are organic with no pesticides used,” Momin said.
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Hunzakut women drying apricots in the Garelt village, Hunza river valley, with Mt Rakaposhi in the background.
That is not enough...According to the ADB, Gilgit-Baltistan has the potential to produce nearly 50,000MW of energy. Just Bunji Dam, a run-of-the-river project that the ADB has invested in, has the capacity to generate up to 7,100MW electricity when completed.
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“By building hydropower projects, Pakistan can sell clean energy to China and even use it for itself, the development consultant said. "If Bhutan can sell to India, why can’t we sell to China?” Hunzai pointed out that the Chinese already taking the country’s national grid to its border province.
However, the government is almost ready to revive the Diamer-Bhasha dam, a gravity dam on the Indus river in Gilgit-Baltistan, in the second phase of CPEC. Once completed, it is estimated to generate 4,500MW of electricity, besides serving as a huge water reservoir for the country.
The region has the potential to solve the load-shedding problems in the country which has been hurting the industrial sector along with general population for years.
Things to improve and to look out for...
Putting aside all the conspiracy theories and how the CPEC is bound to destroy local industry in Pakistan, or that Chinese will colonize regions like CPEC. Merily giving a notice to these theories is a sheer waste of one's time. While in actuality CPEC is bound to improve the lives of locals, especially in regions in GB. Region far less developed and developed, same change is expected in regions like Balochistan, KPK and FATA.
Once basic infrastructure facilities improve, it is bound to improve socio-economic situation of the people. As the tourists numbers increase locals are bound to profit from it, and it is can also play a key role in Pakistan's economy in coming years. As raw products reach better market swiftly, due to improved transport. This sector is also expected to do better than it has ever done before.
A factor to look out for is that, CPEC is expected to generate thousands of jobs for the locals. Just about 50,000 jobs will be generated in Gwadar, which a decade ago was a just small-fishing village.
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CPEC is expected to be a ‘game-changer’ for Pakistan, and especially for regions like Baluchistan, GB, KPK and FATA...One thing we need to realize is that better infrastructure alone cannot solve major problems of Pakistan, work needs to be done to improve education structure in the country and improve basic facilities for people. Improvement on Health facilities, along with educational infrastructure is a need for regions like GB.
One of the important things to adress is that local population of GB demands constitutional and political rights, and have long been raising their voices for these right. Continuous ignorance of these demands may lead to a sense of deprivation and may create more problems in future…
Mr Raees said GB was central to the CPEC project, but unfortunately the people had totally been neglected. “The federal government has also ignored the demand of the GB people that their representatives should be given representation in the parliament of Pakistan.”
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Most of the local reservations have long been resolved but one demands remains to be resolved, but some development has happened on this front too. Government is expected to give the region it’s due constitutional status and political representation in National Assembly and Senate.
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The next step
Students attend the morning assembly at Hasegawa Memorial Public School and College in Karimabad, Pakistan.
Gilgit-Baltistan has the potential to be Pakistan’s ‘real Shangri-la’. It has a high literacy rate, and in some areas literacy rate is in the 90’s. It is most definitely not facing the rest of the country has unfortunately had to face, the security situation have never really deteriorated like the rest of the country. And even the usual social problems a society faces are in very low number. There are few areas in the world like Hunza...Once a hardscrabble Himalayan town where residents barely had enough to eat, now a beacon of inspiration for the rest of the world.
Visitors to the stunningly beautiful valley, towered over by five snowcapped mountains, sometimes feel as if they are standing at the edge of the Earth — or, maybe, at the centre of it.
Either way, they often don’t feel as if they are in Pakistan, a country that struggles with poverty, pollution, Islamist militancy and a lacklustre education system, especially for women.
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Many parents in the valley say that if they had to choose, they would send their daughters to school over their sons. Nearly all families own at least a small plot of land. Residents say they cannot remember the last murder in the valley. And unlike in other parts of Pakistan, streams are not polluted with plastic bags, human waste and decaying appliances.
A World Bank study published last year concluded that female literacy in parts of the Hunza Valley had reached 90 per cent. “When I was in school, few could even speak English,” said Javed Ali, 41, manager of Karimabad’s Hill Top Hotel. “Now, everyone speaks it fluently.” From settlements at an elevation as high as 9,000ft, children walk up to three miles into the valley to get to school each morning.
After middle school, some female students enroll in the Aga Khan Higher Secondary School for Girls, which teaches only maths and science. Nearly all graduates go on to college, according to Zahra Alidad, the principal and a graduate of the school. [9]
“When you have communities improving their own lives and obtaining education, it prevents easy manipulation of communities and allows them to be resilient against external forces,” Mr Walji said.
If there can be communities which solely rely on local charity groups, and education to improve their lives. One can only imagine what proper attention given to such a rich place can lead to.
This is a thought we must all build on and take inspiration from, and look to imply this simple method in the rest of the country.
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Gilgit-Baltistans Liberation
[2]
G-B Expressway to be the highest in world
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China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: A boon for the economy, a bane for locals
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‘A million tourists expected in GB this year’
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Potential of renewable energies in Pakistan
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50,000 JOBS TO BE GENERATED IN GWADAR
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Is there Room for Improvement in CPEC Implementation in GB?
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Pakistan mulls elevating status of Gilgit-Baltistan on Chinese insistence
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Hunza Valley: Pakistan's 'real Shangri-La' is a world free from militant Islamists, poverty, pollution and a lacklustre education system
