Indus Pakistan
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CPEC is a huge opportunity for Pakistan. It could and the word is could be a game changer. The last time Pakistan had a similiar opportunity was over 50 years ago when the great Pak-American relationship bloomed. That opportunity hit the rocks and whithered away which then evolved into the intense hatred we see today. To be fair the great Pak-American relationship did leave behind some of the largest and signficant infra that even today runs Pakistan. Tarbela, Mangla dams including the multitude of canals that shifted water to the eastern rivers which India cut off post partition. We also have Islamabad city, many military cantonments like Kharian, airbases as well as decades of military hardware some of which still sustains Pak Army. For instance the Pattons and Sabres might be gone but M-1113 APC and F-16 still plod on.
The great Pak-American relationship flaundered because at heart of it there was always a major contradiction. US was a White Anglo-Saxon state with a Christian, capitalist heritage and this conflicted with vast majority of religious, conservative and narrow minded Pakistani. President Ayub Khan and his officials might well have been able to wine and dine with the Americans but that did not apply to vast majority of Pakistanis. So as more people to people contact took place the honeymoon began to flounder. It began to get irritants on both sides. As time went on this turned to resentment and rest is history. Familiarity bred contempt.
1960s Pak-American relationship.
In the present day - Pak-American relationship on the rocks.
Pakistan has had a 70 year relationship with the Peoples Republic of China. This friendship has been variously described as "higher then mountains and deeper then oceans". But this relationship has been limited to in the most part to officials and confined to offices and state occasions.
However with CPEC began the consolidation of that relationship which would involve mass people to people contact. The real China would meet the real Pakistan. A deeply athiest socialist society driven by consumerism with a global vision is meeting a deeply Islamic and backward society. This places the possibility of lot of stress and source of problems - possibly greater then the contradiction of the great Pak-American concord raised as the gulf is even greater between China/Pakistan in their cultures.
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/cpec-hurdles-challenges-trips.541730/
This is not a minor question. If the people to people contact between the hyper athiests of China and uber Islamists of Pakistan goes sour the implications are profound. So my $50 billion question. Will the increasing familiarity between Chinese and Pakistanis lead to contempt as the two opposite cultures clash, jar and crack?
I have been watching how the increased people to people contact plays and sadly there does appear to be early signs of conra-indications developing. This below is a good example.
Chinese workers thrash policemen in Khanewal
Chinese engineers and other staffers, engaged in the construction of M4 Motorway from Bahawalpur to Faisalabad, attacked policemen deployed for their security after the foreign workers were barred from leaving their camp's premises without a security squad, DawnNewsTV reported on Wednesday.
Several mobile phone clips doing rounds on social media show Chinese nationals approaching the police officials in a provocative manner and attacking them. A video showed a Chinese national standing on the bonnet of a police van, another video showed several Chinese nationals trashing policemen and some local people in plain clothes.
Screenshot shows a Chinese national standing on the bonnet of a police van.— DawnNewsTV
According to police officials, Chinese engineers and other officials wanted to leave their camp in Khanewal and visit a "red-light" area on Tuesday night. They resorted to agitation when denied permission to leave the camp without being accompanied by security officials.
Later, the Chinese engineers also cut power supply to the police camp established within the main construction camp, the officials added.
On Wednesday morning, the Chinese workers stopped work on the project and abandoned heavy machinery and vehicles on various roads in the area. They also resorted to violence and attacked police in their camp.
Subsequently, the protesting Chinese engineers wrote a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, claiming that police officials refrained them from performing their duties and attacked them.
They also accused the security in-charge of attempting to hit the Chinese workers with his vehicle. Police officials, however, rejected the accusations and said they were fabricated.
Later in the day, Khanewal DPO Rizwan Omer Gondal held a meeting with the protesting Chinese workers following which they agreed to open the blocked roads.
Meanwhile, the police officials made it clear to the Chinese engineers that they will not be allowed to leave their camp without security arrangements.
This was not the first time when Chinese nationals in Pakistan attacked local police. In 2016, a clash occurred between the police and Chinese workers as the latter insisted on staying at a construction camp at night, but the former opposed the idea due to security reasons.
According to media reports, citing sources, some Chinese nationals associated with the Chinese army and trained in martial arts had attacked and injured police personnel deployed for their security.
However, the police had avoided taking any legal action against the Chinese to avert further conflict. In fact, the then CPO had suspended three SHOs and six other policemen for not restraining themselves from a clash.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1399531/chinese-workers-thrash-policemen-in-khanewal
The great Pak-American relationship flaundered because at heart of it there was always a major contradiction. US was a White Anglo-Saxon state with a Christian, capitalist heritage and this conflicted with vast majority of religious, conservative and narrow minded Pakistani. President Ayub Khan and his officials might well have been able to wine and dine with the Americans but that did not apply to vast majority of Pakistanis. So as more people to people contact took place the honeymoon began to flounder. It began to get irritants on both sides. As time went on this turned to resentment and rest is history. Familiarity bred contempt.
1960s Pak-American relationship.
In the present day - Pak-American relationship on the rocks.
Pakistan has had a 70 year relationship with the Peoples Republic of China. This friendship has been variously described as "higher then mountains and deeper then oceans". But this relationship has been limited to in the most part to officials and confined to offices and state occasions.
However with CPEC began the consolidation of that relationship which would involve mass people to people contact. The real China would meet the real Pakistan. A deeply athiest socialist society driven by consumerism with a global vision is meeting a deeply Islamic and backward society. This places the possibility of lot of stress and source of problems - possibly greater then the contradiction of the great Pak-American concord raised as the gulf is even greater between China/Pakistan in their cultures.
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/cpec-hurdles-challenges-trips.541730/
This is not a minor question. If the people to people contact between the hyper athiests of China and uber Islamists of Pakistan goes sour the implications are profound. So my $50 billion question. Will the increasing familiarity between Chinese and Pakistanis lead to contempt as the two opposite cultures clash, jar and crack?
I have been watching how the increased people to people contact plays and sadly there does appear to be early signs of conra-indications developing. This below is a good example.
Chinese workers thrash policemen in Khanewal
Chinese engineers and other staffers, engaged in the construction of M4 Motorway from Bahawalpur to Faisalabad, attacked policemen deployed for their security after the foreign workers were barred from leaving their camp's premises without a security squad, DawnNewsTV reported on Wednesday.
Several mobile phone clips doing rounds on social media show Chinese nationals approaching the police officials in a provocative manner and attacking them. A video showed a Chinese national standing on the bonnet of a police van, another video showed several Chinese nationals trashing policemen and some local people in plain clothes.
Screenshot shows a Chinese national standing on the bonnet of a police van.— DawnNewsTV
According to police officials, Chinese engineers and other officials wanted to leave their camp in Khanewal and visit a "red-light" area on Tuesday night. They resorted to agitation when denied permission to leave the camp without being accompanied by security officials.
Later, the Chinese engineers also cut power supply to the police camp established within the main construction camp, the officials added.
On Wednesday morning, the Chinese workers stopped work on the project and abandoned heavy machinery and vehicles on various roads in the area. They also resorted to violence and attacked police in their camp.
Subsequently, the protesting Chinese engineers wrote a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, claiming that police officials refrained them from performing their duties and attacked them.
They also accused the security in-charge of attempting to hit the Chinese workers with his vehicle. Police officials, however, rejected the accusations and said they were fabricated.
Later in the day, Khanewal DPO Rizwan Omer Gondal held a meeting with the protesting Chinese workers following which they agreed to open the blocked roads.
Meanwhile, the police officials made it clear to the Chinese engineers that they will not be allowed to leave their camp without security arrangements.
This was not the first time when Chinese nationals in Pakistan attacked local police. In 2016, a clash occurred between the police and Chinese workers as the latter insisted on staying at a construction camp at night, but the former opposed the idea due to security reasons.
According to media reports, citing sources, some Chinese nationals associated with the Chinese army and trained in martial arts had attacked and injured police personnel deployed for their security.
However, the police had avoided taking any legal action against the Chinese to avert further conflict. In fact, the then CPO had suspended three SHOs and six other policemen for not restraining themselves from a clash.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1399531/chinese-workers-thrash-policemen-in-khanewal
