ISLAMABAD: China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing has said Pakistan has the potential to become a hub of regional connectivity and trade as Islamabad pushes to complete stalled projects under a multibillion dollar energy and infrastructure corridor sponsored by Beijing.
In an interview to Pakistan news channel Geo News, which was aired on Monday night, Yao said Pakistan and China were working closely on the completion of projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), under which Beijing has pledged about $60 billion for infrastructure in Pakistan, central to China’s wider Belt and Road initiative to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond.
“Due to CPEC, due to our cooperation with Pakistan we would like to explore and will have full use of this potential for Pakistan as the hub for regional connectivity,” Yao said.
He said the deep sea port of Gwadar in the southwestern Balochistan province could be at the center of regional connectivity and a possible railway link from Gwadar to Kandahar or other parts of Afghanistan and to Central Asian through Afghanistan could become a key trade and transportation route.
Gwadar is the crown jewel of China’s $60 billion investment in Belt and Road Initiative projects in Pakistan. The plan is to turn Gwadar into a trans-shipment hub and megaport to be built alongside special economic zones from which export-focused industries will ship goods worldwide. A web of energy pipelines, roads and rail links will connect Gwadar to China’s western regions.
Pakistan has potential to become ‘hub of regional connectivity’ — Chinese envoy
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Pakistan has potential to become ‘hub of regional connectivity’ — Chinese envoy
- Islamabad is pushing to complete stalled projects under a multibillion dollar energy and infrastructure corridor sponsored by Beijing
- Ambassador Yao says deep sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan province could be center of regional connectivity, become key trade route
Police kill five militants, foil plan to block highway in Pakistan’s southwest
- The militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Mastung district of Balochistan
- Search, combing operations are underway to apprehend accomplices of militants who fled the scene
QUETTA: Pakistan’s counterterrorism police on Monday said they had killed five militants, who were planning to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces, in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province.
The operation took place in Mastung district when militants affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were planning to carry out “subversive activities” against security forces and the public, according to a CTD spokesperson.
CTD received credible intelligence that armed BLA militants had taken positions near Mastung’s Dasht area to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces and civilian traffic. Acting swiftly on the information, CTD teams moved into the area. The militants opened indiscriminate fire upon sighting CTD personnel.
“During the encounter, five unknown terrorists were shot dead, while other accomplices managed to flee, taking advantage of the rugged and mountainous terrain,” the CTD spokesperson said in a statement.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a separatist insurgency and witnessed a series of high-profile militant attacks last year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train and the siege killed at least 60 people, while in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children on a school bus.
The separatists accuse the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab. The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Officials found seven hand grenades, five sub-machine guns with live rounds and three motorcycles from the scene, according to the CTD statement.
“Search and combing operations are underway to apprehend the fleeing terrorists and dismantle the remaining network,” it read.
