CPEC to enhance importance of Pakistan’s seaports: Zubair

[open-source]

KARACHI: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would also help enhance the significance of the ports of Pakistan.

This was stated by the Governor of Sindh, Muhammad Zubair, here on Friday.

He was talking to the Chairman of the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Agha Jan Akhtar, who called on him at the Governor House here.

The Governor was of the view that activation of CPEC would make PQA of vital importance enhancing the commercial activity and generating employment opportunities.

He said with CPEC, the future of Pakistan has become even more brighter.

Zubair directed that steps be initiated on priority basis for expansion of Muhammad Bin Qasim Port and infrastructure development.

Agha Jan Akhtar informed the Governor that steps would be taken in collaboration with the private sector for construction of new terminals, infrastructure development and capacity for handling cargo.

http://www.brecorder.com/2017/06/09/353632/cpec-to-enhance-importance-of-pakistans-seaports-zubair/

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2017

 

[Maea]

Good to know.

 

[Tenz]

Gwadar is the future. Mark my words.

 

[Banglar Bir]

CPEC: Socio-cultural impact
June 12, 2017

Zahra Niazi
The opportunities offered by the CPEC project are undeniable and manifest but can we ignore its socio-cultural impact? The influence of Eurocentric concepts on our society is evident today, which is a result of an era of colonialism and white supremacy. Globalisation has already resulted in the diffusion of cultures to some extent. The new Chinese rhetoric is the free trade and globalisation. Similarly, cultural friction due to Chinese influx in Pakistan might occur as a result of the CPEC Project.

We see that day by day the Chinese people are seen more often in malls, restaurants and other places. This is just the beginning of a grand cultural change.

Presently, English appears to be the dominant language when it comes to acquiring good jobs. One has to be proficient in this language in order to cope with the society, and we have already seen urdu losing its significance. Soon, the Chinese language would further lessen the value of Urdu. We, as students, are often told that we would have to be good at Chinese in order to communicate and reach higher status positions as new companies and firms would be opened as a result of the project. Premier Li Keqiang also made the promise to send 1000 teachers to Pakistan to teach the Chinese language in 2013 and today there are abundant Chinese teachers in Pakistan.

Chinese and Pakistani culture are utterly different when it comes to religion. China has the biggest irreligious population; while our culture has strict religious values, norms and mores. The CPEC routes will not only provide a means for the carrying of goods and other materials but also for the transfer of social customs, languages and beliefs among other things. People to people contact would rise. The Silk Road in the ancient world led to the transmission of Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam. Buddhism itself reached China through the Silk Road. The travellers experienced different religions and then carried them back to their own native lands. Diverse societies were formed throughout Eurasia.

The present era Silk Road is the revival of the ancient Silk Route. At the same time, the positive aspect of the collaborations could be the imminent transmission of knowledge and new innovations which is indubitably a source of progress and growth. Inter-cultural communication results in an increased commerce, technological growth and cooperation. Chinese have made phenomenal progress in the past few years. Hence, they stand as the finest example for us.

The ‘Shan masala’ advert showing a Chinese woman in Pakistani clothes bringing Biryani to a Pakistani home went viral. In the near future, we can anticipate the vice versa to happen as well. Earlier a photo showing a Pakistani woman marrying a Chinese man became a source of interest for many. Some of you might have taken it as a joke but that is a real possibility.

The major transmitter of culture is the media. The CPEC master plan revealed the plan to broadcast Chinese content on Pakistani televisions through Digital Television Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting (DTMB). It was even reported that these services would be extended to the mountainous areas of Pakistan where you still find people living the traditional life. For the past few years, Turkish and Indian drama series have been popular among people of almost all age groups. They are intelligibly exhibiting unethical values having the tendency to influence people especially the youth, but there is nobody to be held accountable for. Same could be the case in the context of CPEC. A Chinese actor has already made appearance in the upcoming film ‘chalay thay saath’. Likewise, there is much more to come.

China will be gaining a new business market in Pakistan. One of the driving reasons behind the Belt and Road initiative was the saturation in their own markets or the overproduction. China was determined to explore new markets in other countries. Chinese products have already made their reputation in the previous years and are likely to become dominant in the coming ones as there has been a free trade agreement between the two countries. This is a threat to the local markets and manufacturers. Markets might become even more flooded with inexpensive Chinese products as they already are. This will lead to the transmission of materialistic culture.

However, there is no harm in adopting valuable ethics. For instance, Chinese work ethics are much more desirable than ours. They strongly believe in the importance of hard work, dedication and commitment and this is one of the reasons for China’s fast economic growth. While, a number of people here have poor work ethics particularly a lack of commitment which hinders the country’s progress. Additionally, strong cooperation can ensure the success of the project. If not, Chinese and Pakistanis, in their effort to compete and excel against one another, could bring on undesirable competition.

We as a nation have to understand the fact that progress lies in adopting and preserving one’s own culture rather than falling prey to the influence of other cultural values which are contrary to that of theirs while picking only the beneficial practices. Otherwise, there is a threat to our centuries old preserved culture. We are the guardians and defenders of our own culture.
http://nation.com.pk/columns/12-Jun-2017/cpec-socio-cultural-impact

 

[Banglar Bir]

EDITOR'S CHOICE | 13.06.2017
Pakistan Scrambles to Protect China’s ‘Silk Road’ Pioneers
Drazen JORGIC and Jibran AHMAD

Chastened by the Islamic State’s claim to have killed two kidnapped Chinese teachers, Pakistan is beefing up security around Chinese citizens streaming into the country on the back of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure splurge.

China has often urged Pakistan to improve security after pledging around US$57 billion to build power plants, railways, and roads that will cross the Himalayas to connect western China with Pakistan’s Arabian Sea port of Gwadar.

Pakistani officials have outlined to Reuters extensive security plans that include thousands-strong police protection forces, tighter monitoring of Chinese nationals, and in the province of Baluchistan – where the two teachers were kidnapped on May 24 – a review of security arrangements.
The protection forces will buttress a 15,000-strong army division set up specifically to safeguard projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, which has been credited with rejuvenating Pakistan’s US$300 billion economy.

“We are already alert, but this incident has made us extra vigilant over Chinese security,” said Amin Yousafzai, deputy inspector general of police for the southern province of Sindh, which is home to about 50 million people.

Sindh is raising a protection unit of about 2,600 police officers to help safeguard 4,000 Chinese working on CPEC projects, and another 1,000 working in other businesses.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which signed billions of dollars in contracts with Chinese companies, is also conducting a census of Chinese nationals and raising a force of about 4,200 officers to protect foreigners.

Baluchistan would “review the whole security arrangement” and Chinese nationals who come in a private capacity should inform the authorities about their activities, said Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, spokesman for the provincial government.

The number of militant attacks in Pakistan has fallen sharply in recent years, but violent Islamist groups still pose a threat, and in Baluchistan separatists opposed to CPEC also carry out attacks.

The Islamic State killings were a rare attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, but the incident has unnerved Islamabad and the growing Chinese community.

Miftah Ismail, a state minister involved in CPEC planning, said Pakistan had devoted huge resources to improving security and Chinese investors should not be put off by a one-off attack.

“The country’s security situation has improved,” Ismail said.

The scale of the task facing security agencies is increasing by the day as more Chinese entrepreneurs arrive to set up businesses. Most stay in big cities, but some venture into riskier areas.

The challenge for authorities will increase in 2018, when the corridor is due to become operational and trucks ferrying goods to and from China cross more than 1,000km (620 miles) of road in remote Baluchistan areas currently off-limits to foreigners.

Protection force
The two Chinese-language teachers were kidnapped by gunmen pretending to be police, but little else is known about how the they ended up in Baluchistan’s provincial capital, Quetta.

Baluchistan’s government afterwards evacuated 11 other Chinese nationals based in the city. “There are no more Chinese living in Quetta”, said Ahsan Mehboob, Baluchistan’s inspector general of police. It was not clear why the 11 were there.

The new Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forces resemble the Special Protection Unit (SPU) recently established by Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest province, which has attracted most Chinese investment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was already working on plans to set up the force, but after the Quetta kidnappings the process was “accelerated”, according to one regional official. Sindh was also planning to set up a force before the Quetta attack, and was now expanding it, another official said.

Punjab’s SPU, dedicated to protecting Chinese nationals and other foreigners, has more than 6,000 officers and is set to grow to 10,000.

Raja Jahangir, Punjab secretary for information, said SPU chiefs hold daily meetings with intelligence agencies and police chiefs to ensure Chinese nationals stay safe, while a database has been set up to track foreigners from their arrival, to their hotels, and their departure.

Jahangir said security has been stepped up since the Quetta attacks.

“Almost all personnel are on alert and they are on their toes,” he said.

https://www.strategic-culture.org/n...rambles-protect-china-silk-road-pioneers.html