EDITORIAL: To say that the Pakistan-China relationship is a close, deep and continuing one would be to state what has been obvious for many years. Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe's three-day visit therefore was expected to help deepen our mutual relations even further, and so it has proved. General Wei had embarked on an outreach mission in the region in the light of China's currently tense relations with India pertaining to the two countries' long-standing border disputes. General Wei travelled to Pakistan after visiting Nepal, a South Asian country sandwiched between China and India. While in Islamabad, General Wei interacted with the civilian and military leadership, and the outcome was a consensus on deeper cooperation for regional peace and stability, while taking on board India's apparent hegemonic designs in the region. The military leadership signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the distinguished guest's delegation for enhanced defence cooperation. The importance of this step can be understood if the drying up if not dried up traditional source of defence procurement and aid, i.e. the US-led west, is taken into account. Given the efforts to wind down if not resolve the conflict in Afghanistan, in which the US in particular has begun to appreciate Pakistan's role in the peace initiative, Pakistan no longer enjoys the same pre-eminence as before in Washington's eyes. China can fill this emerging gap in significant ways. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during his meeting with General Wei laid stress on the threat to regional peace and stability posed by India's illegal annexation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on August 5, 2019. He also dilated on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) actions and blatant discrimination against religious minorities in India, particularly Muslims, and curbs on freedoms that threatened to spill over into tensions regionally. The PM argued for deepening bilateral strategic communication and coordination between Pakistan and China as two closely knit neighbours. President Arif Alvi too expressed similar sentiments during his interaction with the distinguished guest.
China has stood like an iron friend by Pakistan's side through thick and thin for many years. The mutual trust and friendship between the two neighbours has only deepened over time. Both countries support each other's concerns and stances on every international forum. So far, so good. But there are also real or potential differences that need to be addressed in order to avoid misunderstandings. China's Road and Belt Initiative, of which the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part, has much promise and mutual benefit if properly framed and handled. China's need is to provide an outlet to the sea that is one-third of the distance to its eastern seaboard for its troubled western province of Xinjiang. This is a Muslim-majority province that could not escape the growth of Islamic fundamentalist movements that had the region in their grip as a corollary of the Afghan wars. The Chinese have been very patient with us over the presence in erstwhile FATA of Uighur Islamic fundamentalist elements, who were only eliminated from our soil during the military operations against our Taliban. The Chinese have been attempting over the years to wean us off our obsession with Islamic fundamentalist groups as extensions of state power and policy in the region, an obsession that has yielded us more costs than benefit. CPEC has often been dubbed a 'game changer', but there are some serious issues with the project that need addressing. First and foremost, CPEC represented a golden opportunity to help the backward regions of Pakistan to catch up with its developed parts through the aegis of the western route passing through relatively underdeveloped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. With hindsight, it could be argued that the western route has yet to attract equal attention as the eastern one, which passes through Punjab and Sindh, already relatively better developed. More attention therefore needs to be paid to the western route, including Special Economic Zones in which Pakistani businesses too are accommodated along with Chinese ones. Gwadar Port promises much, but local grievances regarding their share of the benefits of this development need attention. Similarly, given the simmering sub-nationalist insurgency in Balochistan, the benefits of CPEC, should they begin to appear and be enjoyed by the local populations along the route, could undercut the insurgents' critique with arms of what they dub as another plan to exploit their land and resources for others or the state. Inclusive development of CPEC could go a long way towards mitigating resentment and grievances, deliver tangible benefits to the populace along the route, and help dull the edges of armed confrontation in Balochistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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