LAHORE, Pakistan: The Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC Senator Syed Mushahid Hussain said on Saturday that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a guarantee to bright future, economic security and prosperity of Pakistan.
While speaking at a seminar on ‘CPEC: Prospects of Pakistan’s Prosperity and Economic Stability’, organised by Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust (NPT) at the NPT office in Lahore, Mushahid said that anti-Pakistan forces were bent upon sabotaging the project and Pakistanis would have to pursue it like the attaining of nuclear technology. He said that CPEC would be a game-changer for Pakistan, South Asia and Middle East.
Mushahid Hussain said that CPEC would play a pivotal role in development of infrastructure, energy projects, Gwadar Port and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan, asserting that the Country had started mining in the area of Thar after the start of CPEC projects.
Furthermore, he said that the military leadership would defeat anti-CPEC intrigues of the elements active against the project. He said that CPEC was the costliest-ever project between two countries in the world history as this project was worth $50 billion and to be completed by 2030.
“It is a national strategic project and cannot be attributed to an individual, a political party or a province,” he added.
The Chairman Parliamentary Committee on CPEC recalled that Quaid-i-Azam had once predicted to a foreign journalist that Pakistan would be a centre-stage of world politics in future. His vision had been materialized in the form of CPEC, he added.
Senator Mushahid said Pakistan had brought China closer to the US in 1970. He appreciated the unstinting support of China to Pakistan and told the audience that China received not a single penny against the military weapon it provided to Pakistan from 1965 to 1980. He said that Pakistan had reciprocated the friendship gesture equally on all fronts.
The Chairman said that the Chinese leadership had brought 700 million Chinese out of poverty in the last 25 years, and the 21st century belongs to Asia.
“Today some 22,000 Pakistani students are studying in Chinese universities. China is providing scholarships to 5,000 students,” he added.
