Ahsan urges institutions to work together to make Pakistan 'Asian tiger'

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday urged all institutions to work together to make Pakistan an 'Asian tiger' in terms of economy and efforts should be made to reap full benefits of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The minister was speaking at a seminar, "Five Years of CPEC: A Story of Success and Opportunities," here that was organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
He said that the peace and stability are vital to reap benefits of the CPEC. "If we get involved in conflicts, we will not be able to benefit from the CPEC," he said, adding that the CPEC has highlighted Pakistan's positive image across the world and a number of countries are keen to enter the partnership with Pakistan.
"We will not allow Pakistan's progress to crash-land," he said, adding that the government has also launched the Productivity, Quality and Innovation (PQI) initiative to make Pakistan globally competitive.
The minister said that the CPEC has become a symbol of global identity of Pakistan, adding that a number of world countries have expressed their desire to enter into partnership with Pakistan.
He said that master plan of Gwadar city would be designed much better even than of Hong Kong's while a complete road network is being laid across the Gwadar city.
The minister said that road connectivity will contribute to the prosperity of Pakistan. Iqbal also clarified, "We did not come into power for a personal agenda but to serve people and have developed Pakistan. We love Pakistan as much as anyone else."
"If you cannot appreciate the government's performance then do not taunt it on a daily basis. Now that we have reached our destination, some people have turned up with a pickaxe to destroy our garden," he said, adding "but we will protect what we have sowed."
Talking about politics, he said that so-called groups are being formed in South Punjab ahead of general elections, adding that ideas of 'PPP Patriots and MMA' have become old, so new groups are being formed.
He also said that the Chief Justice has leveled allegation against him for illegally appointing vice chancellor of a university and if the Chief Justice has any proofs, he should bring them forth. The minister said, "If the Chief Justice enjoys respect then we also enjoy dignity that should be respected."
He said that judges, army generals and media persons should play a responsible role for prosperity and progress of the country. Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said that there is need to focus on infrastructure and communication related projects in the CPEC in the first phase. He said the cooperation for the CPEC projects will increase in the coming years, adding that this will contribute in prosperity of both China and Pakistan.
The ambassador also said that progress of China is linked to its neighboring countries as it cannot make progress alone. Pakistan is cooperating in prosperity of the whole region that should be lauded, he said.
Hassan Daud, Project Director CPEC, said that both the countries have been cooperating with each other in the fields of infrastructure, energy, industry, agriculture and tourism.
In the next phase, the federal and provincial governments will be cooperating with one another in establishment of industrial zones across the country, he said, adding that feasibility study is being carried out and practical work will start soon.
Lijian Zhao, Deputy Head of Mission China, rebuffed the impression that Chinese prisoners have been working on the CPEC projects, saying that only labourers of Pakistan and China are working on these projects.
He also clarified that China is not installing second-hand coal-fired power plants in Pakistan instead the latest technology is being used for the energy projects.
Zhao said that China is getting 6 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants while the United States of America is getting 30 percent of its electricity from the coal-fired power plants.
About loans to Pakistan, he said that China is giving commercial loans to Pakistan on 5 to 6 percent interest rate while $6 billion have been given as a soft-loan to Islamabad.
He also rebuffed the allegations by some analysts that the CPEC will also become like East India Company and devour all resources of Pakistan.
Dr Abid Suleri, Executive Director SDPI, suggested that Iran and Afghanistan should also be made part of the CPEC projects and if there are any differences between the neighboring countries, they should be resolved through negotiations. He also said that there is a need to enhance people to people contacts among the neighboring countries for better relationship.