The Pakistan Army’s Belt and Road Putsch: FOREIGN POLICY MAG

[Taimoor Khan]

These are genuine questions. We don't have a large industrial complex, so what exactly will we be moving. The current status of our railway is in shambles due to poor maintenance and serviceability. The railway link is merely an alternative route for china to transport it's good. We'll only generate toll from it. The same way NATO supply works. We Pakistani suck at charging fees from foreigners.
The 220 million population and increasing is an incoming disaster. Lack of education and skilled workforce. 30 million children out of schools. What's the point of having such a large population?

When I was growning up in Pakistan, decades ago, I remember watching those very long "mall garis" (the freight trains" running through Karachi going in different parts of the country. If the economic activity was there back in those days, it is still there but our "democratic governments" have destroyed whatever infra we had and regressed us. Manufacturing doesn't mean you are shipping high tech stuff. It could be raw materials. agriculture products etc. You can relived all the traffic on your motorways and make them less congested.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Grapes, especially those hanging from the tall branches out of the reach of the "usual suspects", are always sour and inedible....

Yes, the Pak Ordu might be blamed for some major debacles and setbacks in the Pak history, but CPEC and the current Civil-Military cohesion aren't amongst them. In fact these are their attempts to compensate their mistakes with sufficient margins...

 

[Waterboy]

When I was growning up in Pakistan, decades ago, I remember watching those very long "mall garis" (the freight trains" running through Karachi going in different parts of the country. If the economic activity was there back in those days, it is still there but our "democratic governments" have destroyed whatever infra we had and regressed us. Manufacturing doesn't mean you are shipping high tech stuff. It could be raw materials. agriculture products etc. You can relived all the traffic on your motorways and make them less congested.

I am talking in terms of economic benefit. Why build a project worth 7 billion just to relive traffic on motorway?

 

[Taimoor Khan]

I am talking in terms of economic benefit. Why build a project worth 7 billion just to relive traffic on motorway?

Go out , see the world. Developed countries have laid railway tracks all over their lands. They are not stupid.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

That jarring reality is that Pakistan is ran as a national security state which co-opts competet civilians like PMIK. And as long as the Prussian style state delivers who gives a flying fig?

It's a risky gambit - what Pakistan is trying to accomplish is a hybrid system, that tries to balance a free media, free social media and elected governments (with the military flexing a significant amount of influence in various spheres and perhaps tipping the balance here and there). Pakistan is not as autocratic as the Russians under Putin (certainly not the Chinese), nor have we pulled a BJP/Modi in leveraging significant parts of the media in their favor through direct or indirect coercion or some kind of appeal to extremist ideology and 'othering'.

In my view, this kind of hybrid system is an intermediate stepping stone, and its nature means that a government like the PTI HAS to show tangible progress term after term. Failure to deliver could lead to a significant amount of instability within the country.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

It's a risky gambit - what Pakistan is trying to accomplish is a hybrid system, that tries to balance a free media, free social media and elected governments (with the military flexing a significant amount of influence in various spheres and perhaps tipping the balance here and there). Pakistan is not as autocratic as the Russians under Putin (certainly not the Chinese), nor have we pulled a BJP/Modi in leveraging significant parts of the media in their favor through direct or indirect coercion or some kind of appeal to extremist ideology and 'othering'.

In my view, this kind of hybrid system is an intermediate stepping stone, and its nature means that a government like the PTI HAS to show tangible progress term after term. Failure to deliver could lead to a significant amount of instability within the country.

I see Pakistan as a 21st century Prussian style state.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

And yes your right that if this 'hybrid' fails Pakistan will descend into chaos. Maybe a solution then might be a loose confederation of independant states [four] on the Indus Valley?

 

[Nasr]

Arif Rafiq, buddy you seriously need to go yank your head outta your @$$ and stop drinking the western+ppp+pml-n cocktail. The only idiot who can write bull$hit like this is one who doesn't want CPEC to succeed and with it, Pakistan's economy and it's people. Anyone with even half a brain and a pinch of reality would know why bull$h!t articles like this one are written, or why ppp-maggots are deliberately destroying Karachi, or why the inept, eunuch senate has defeated the Bill proposed by the Govt. For starters, they don't want to get caught by the law and be punished for it. Secondly, any success of CPEC (in their rotten heads) would be attributed to PTI-Govt, so they (ppp-pmln maggots) would use all means necessary to undermine Pakistan's rise as an economic power. Thirdly, ppp-pmln-diesel maggots are slaves of zionist-america, so they would tow the line of america's anti-China narrative.

It is incumbent upon all true Muslims and Pakistanis to tear into idiots like Arif Rafiq and ppp-pmln-diesel maggots. After General Zia-ul-Haq era, ppp/pmln had 20 years, between 1989-1999 and then 2008-2018 with a democratic electoral process and governance. In two decades, these inept, eunuchs combined managed to destroy Pakistan's economy, most state institutions, law & order, state governance and managed to take loans upon loans upon loans to line their pockets and fatten themselves and their associates (partners in crime). So if now Pakistan Military has taken direct responsibility of CPEC, it is in consequence to the pathetic state of so-called democratic parties utter failure and corruption to ever be competent enough to do run Pakistan honestly.

The only thing ppp-pmln-diesel-altaf maggots do is evoke utter disgust and anger to boiling point where the only thing left to do is line these maggots up before a firing squad and then throw their corpses to vultures.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

And yes your right that if this 'hybrid' fails Pakistan will descend into chaos. Maybe a solution then might be a loose confederation of independant states [four] on the Indus Valley?

The 18th Amendment has already granted a significant amount of administrative and fiscal autonomy to the provinces, so much so that the Federal Govt can barely cover its own expenses within existing revenue sources.

Accounting for ALL options, including the possibility of failure, could be why the Sharif's and Zardaris are not rotting in jail already. Given the rise of a rabidly Hindu extremist government in India, failure really isn't an option, not in terms of military influence being reduced in the country (which I personally believe should be limited over time anyway), but in terms of improved governance and economy, without which the military can't really do much (given the associated reductions in resources available to maintain deterrence), regardless of how much influence it has.

 

[KeyBORED Warrior]

The guy seemed like an interesting fellow so i did a little google search and found out that the guy is followed by none othet

 

[KeyBORED Warrior]

....Maryam Nawaz among others.

 

[KeyBORED Warrior]

In his bio you can see that he mentions about a 'grant funded' study on Cpec. I dug a little deeper and found out about the study. Its a 68 page pdf file and i'll try to post it here for anyone who's interested in reading it but this new format of pdf is driving me bananas.

 

[KeyBORED Warrior]

It's a risky gambit - what Pakistan is trying to accomplish is a hybrid system, that tries to balance a free media, free social media and elected governments (with the military flexing a significant amount of influence in various spheres and perhaps tipping the balance here and there). Pakistan is not as autocratic as the Russians under Putin (certainly not the Chinese), nor have we pulled a BJP/Modi in leveraging significant parts of the media in their favor through direct or indirect coercion or some kind of appeal to extremist ideology and 'othering'.

In my view, this kind of hybrid system is an intermediate stepping stone, and its nature means that a government like the PTI HAS to show tangible progress term after term. Failure to deliver could lead to a significant amount of instability within the country.

I was reading someone's comment on Pakistan’s political climate in the backdrop of Cpec and China’s influence. The guy stated that China will want a stable and reliable government in Pakistan cuz that suits its interests. In other words, a totalitarian regime which has absolute power and more importantly for a long-term.

I remember when pti first came into power PMIK was very vocal about revamping the terms and conditions of Cpec which irked China big time. His stance mellowed down with time, he seems to have realized that having good terms with the army AND Beijing is the way to go if he wants to remain in power BEYOND his first term.

There was talk about Presidential system being introduced in Pak a few months back but those whispers seem to have died down though Dr Shahid Masood (dunno if you take him seriously) keeps repeating on the 'system dabardos horaha hai' line ad infinitum.

You mentioned something about an intermediate hybrid system that thrives on a balancing act much like a juggler who tosses everything in the air continously in an effort to keep everything from falling down. I think that's the correct analogy.

I would like to know more of your thoughts about the present and the future of Pakistan's political landscape and the power games.

 

[nahtanbob]

If and when completed, the ML-1 would increase the capacity and speed of Pakistan’s main railway line connecting its major cities and industrial hubs. There’s little doubt that the country needs to revamp its railways, which are underutilized for cargo and plagued by growing pension costs. But as is the case with most CPEC infrastructure projects, Islamabad has yet to clearly explain how the country will generate the amount of traffic that will enable it to repay loans owed to Beijing.


Majority of western media suffer mental block when it comes to about their perception of Pakistan. The bold part is such instance.

What idocity at display here! Pakistan is huge, country of 220 million people, world fifth biggest country! And these morons are questioning how Pakistan will generate the traffic! You having a fkin laugh?

Far from being idiotic comment it is a fair statement. Someone has to pay back the loans. It may be a novel concept for some of you. Judging by the 13 trips to the IMF it is not like Pakistan has a stellar record of paying back its loans.

My prediction - In the end China will be forced to swallow ten of billions in losses or risk a break in their relationship with Pakistan

 

[Taimoor Khan]

Far from being idiotic comment it is a fair statement. Someone has to pay back the loans. It may be a novel concept for some of you. Judging by the 13 trips to the IMF it is not like Pakistan has a stellar record of paying back its loans.

My prediction - In the end China will be forced to swallow ten of billions in losses or risk a break in their relationship with Pakistan

How can be it be a fair comment talking about generating traffic in a nation of 220 million huge country. It's own internal economy needs many ML1 type projects anyway, let alone ferrying goods from China to Gawadar.

What happens between Pakistan and China is purely bilateral matter, no other entity need to twist its panties over it. Pakistan is not concerned about western financial institutions supporting India generously.