Much has been spoken about and volumes of words written on the predatory economic policies, the authoritarian China is practicing across the world. Euphemistically called the “Debt Diplomacy” the Communist Party of China has promised trillions of dollars in investments in different parts of the world, particularly targeting the economically fragile countries who can’t repay the investments under a well-planned strategy. These nations helplessly hand over their territories on lease to the Chinese government once becoming the defaulters.
Impact of OBOR and CPEC
While many participating nations’ of “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) have accused China of promoting cheap and corrupt practices under the garb of infrastructural development, China’s all weather friend, Pakistan is flaunting the muscles of hubris by acting as the “testing laboratory” to colonize those countries which have signed up for receiving billions of dollars in investments under the mammoth project.
Pakistan is probably the most economically failed and politically destabilized country across the world, today. The internal situation in the South Asian nation is extremely fragile with Army and Islamists’ ruling the roost while as the democratically elected civilian government has been playing the second fiddle since the first military coup was pulled off in 1958 in the country.
Economic prosperity brings political stability and general welfare of the people in any part of the world. However, Pakistan is an exception to this as the military is wreaking havoc on the potential, the country has in economic development. Endowed with massive natural resources, the internal strife in the country plays systematically and craftily into the hands of Army Generals’ and Islamists’ who are looting the cream of the billions of dollars of economic bail outs and financial aids, Pakistan avails from friendly countries and global multilateral lending agencies.
Watching Pakistan’s descent into chaos and sensing a great opportunity to promote the neo-colonialist OBTI, China decided to use Pakistan as the mannequin and clothe the insensitive bodies of 130 participating countries with the outer appearance of slavery. As Pakistan offered great geopolitical and geostrategic advantage for OBOR to reach West Asia and Europe, the Xi Jinping and Nawaz Shariff government announced in 2013 that CPEC would be the flagship project of the infrastructure behemoth. In 2015, the two countries rolled out the $46 billion CPEC which the authorities said will link the north-western Chinese province of Kashgar with the Indian Ocean via the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan.
However, the Pakistani government refused to make the CPEC details public for security reasons. While the common Pakistanis’ seconded the Army and the civilian government in justification of keeping the project under wraps, a good section of Pakistani intelligentsia openly began to link CPEC with the “Debt Diplomacy” China is promoting via OBOR. Many media organizations in Pakistan pointed towards the failed projects of Chinese companies in Africa, Kazakhstan and how Sri Lanka had to give up Hambantota port for 99 years (to China) on lease.
Despite sounding this alarm bugle, Pakistani governments of both Nawaz Shariff and now Imran Khan continued to be part of what has factually become predatory economic practices, where instead of Pakistan’s economic prosperity, China wants to encircle India which the CCP has evaluated as extremely critical in case of a military war with India. Passing through PoK, many PLA troops are stationed there. Being a disputed region, India has raised the issue of CPEC passing through PoK as violation of her territorial sovereignty. Fearing any disturbance by India, Pakistan Army has raised Task Force 88 for securing the project. With a numerical strength of 10K personnel, TF88 has been deployed at all the sensitive places (across Pakistan) where the project work is undergoing.
However, the bigger elephant in the room, China, continues to haunt the Pakistanis’ in a friendly and justified manner as the overall investments in CPEC have ballooned to $62 billion with new projects entailed in Khyber Province and other Pakistani parts where the rulers had expressed concern on lion’s share of CPEC projects being carried out in the Punjab province. We can’t be factually accurate about the accurate size of the investments as there’s complete lack of transparency and accountability in the project.
The Imran Khan government unearthed a huge scandal in the massive project as it was found out that a Chinese power company was charging electricity to Pakistanis’ at inflated rates. The decision of not incorporating the Mohmand mega dam in CPEC came after the Pakistani government refused to grant ownership rights to the Chinese company. This came close on the heels of confirmed reports of China usurping 12K hectares of prime land in the restive province of Balochistan. This is the reason we’ve witnessed sporadic attacks on the Chinese engineers’ and workers’ across Pakistan by the freedom fighters of Balochistan.
What’s Happening in Balochistan?
Reportedly, China is building a separate colony in Balochistan for 500K Chinese nationals’ who would accommodated there. No Pakistani citizen shall have entry to the colony which both Pak Army and CCP have apparently agreed upon. The motive is to alter the demography of Balochistan. According to many authentic reports, Chinese Hans’ will outnumber the Pashtuns’ and Balochs’ (in Balochistan) by 2040. This is being systematically done to kill the spirit of freedom movement in the province. The much-touted Gwadar port is solely being constructed to counter the Indo-Iran funded Chabahar port, which lies 150 kms away from it. As Balochistan is one of the richest parts of the world in natural resources worth billions of dollars, Pak Army has fully authorized to loot the cream of the natural wealth in the province, which is fighting for a separate identity since 1947.
Who is the real Winner?
While Pakistan has to return $90+ billion on part of the $62 billion project, the disturbing reports of some Pakistanis’ marrying off their young daughters to very old Chinese men and the Chinese workers’ barring Pakistanis’ from saying their Namaaz has infuriated many in the 200 Mn Muslim dominated nation. It has further exacerbated the concerns of those who’ve been bluntly criticizing CPEC as the sinister design of China to make Pakistan as a colony and a satellite state. There is complete lack of transparency on the undergoing projects across the country. In 2019, reports surfaced many Chinese companies, part of CPEC are barred from operating in other nations due to use of sub-standard material.
While the civilian government in Pakistan is just a mere spectator, there’s no denying that Pakistan Army has sold interests of their country to China for massive financial returns. Gen (Retd) Aseem Bajwa owning many restaurants, food outlets and other business interests in the West is another reminder how the Fauj is the real enemy of those people who foolishly consider them their saviours. China’s overall ambition of cornering India (via CPEC) has found the apt partner in Pakistan Army which is only concerned with minting of billions
OSINTKASHMIR 