KARACHI: Pakistan and China are holding a virtual meeting of the 13th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) today, Friday, with the security of Chinese organizations and personnel working in the South Asian nation expected to be at the top of the agenda.
China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan but both separatist and other militants have attacked Chinese projects in recent months, killing Chinese personnel, including five Chinese workers who perished in a suicide attack on Mar. 26 while on their way to the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan’s northwest.
The hydropower project falls under the ambit of CPEC, a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative through which it has pledged more than $65 billion for road, rail and other infrastructure developments in the South Asian nation of 241 million people. Pakistan has said more than 50 projects worth $25 billion under the CPEC umbrella have been completed since the project was launched in 2015.
On Friday, the 13th JCC meeting formally began with a minute of silence in honor of the Chinese nationals killed in the March suicide bombing, with Pakistan’s planning ministry describing them as “heroes of Pakistan” whose contributions had supported the realization of CPEC.
“China and Pakistan have embarked on a journey of shared dreams working hand in hand to build high-quality development projects,” Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in his opening remarks at the meeting. “It is heartening to note the steady progress CPEC has made since its inception in 2013.”
He lauded President Xi Jinping’s vision to forge an “upgraded version” of CPEC and turn it into a growth, livelihood-enhancing, innovation, green and regional connectivity corridor to align it with Pakistan’s 5E socio-economic framework approved last year for the promotion of exports, energy, environment, equity and empowerment.
“We are ready to work with NDRC [National Development and Reform Commission of China] to finalize the scope and implementation plan on these corridors,” Iqbal added.
The minister detailed a number of projects completed so far under CPEC, including the construction of around 888 kilometers of motorways and highways. He said an 884-megawatt hydropower project at Sukhi Kinari, worth $1.7 billion, was under construction and expected to be commissioner later this year.
Three hydel power projects and one coal-based Gwadar power project with a generation capacity of 2,100 megawatts were in advanced stages of completion, Iqbal added.
Beijing has also over the years readily provided financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor, including in July last year when China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.
But Chinese projects and interests have also increasingly come under attack in recent years.
The Dasu assault in March was the third major one in a little over a week on China’s interests and followed a Mar. 20 attack on a strategic port used by China in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where Beijing has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects including a deep-sea port, and a Mar. 25 assault on a naval air base, also in the southwest.
Both attacks were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan.
Dasu, the site of a major dam, has been attacked in the past, with a bus blast in 2021 killing 13 people, nine Chinese among them, although no group claimed responsibility, like the Mar. 26 bombing.
Pakistan is home to twin insurgencies, one mounted by religiously-motivated militants and the other by ethnic separatists who seek secession, blaming the government’s inequitable division of natural resources in southwestern Balochistan province.
Chinese interests are mostly under attack primarily by ethnic militants seeking to push Beijing out of mineral-rich Balochistan, but that area is far from the site of the Mar. 26 bombing.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s top economic body approved $2.5 million in compensation for families of Chinese workers who were killed in the Mar. 26 Dasu attack.
Security of Chinese workers tops agenda as Islamabad, Beijing hold key investment meeting
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Security of Chinese workers tops agenda as Islamabad, Beijing hold key investment meeting
- Pakistan has said over 50 projects worth $25 billion under CPEC umbrella completed since 2015
- Chinese interests increasingly under attack in recent years by separatist and other militant groups
Pakistan moves to end week-long transport strike disrupting goods movement nationwide
- Federal delegation sent to Karachi as talks intensify with transporters
- Strike over axle loads and tolls has hit supply chains and economic activity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government on Monday stepped up efforts to end an over week-long strike by goods transporters that has disrupted the movement of cargo across the country, directing a high-level delegation to hold urgent negotiations with transport unions in Karachi, according to an information ministry statement.
The strike, now in its eighth day, has slowed the flow of goods between ports, industrial centers and markets, raising concerns over supply chains in an economy heavily reliant on road transport for domestic trade and exports. Trucking is the backbone of Pakistan’s logistics system, moving food, fuel, raw materials and manufactured goods, and prolonged disruptions can quickly translate into higher costs and shortages.
Transport unions have been protesting against stricter enforcement of axle-load limits — legal caps on how much weight trucks can carry — as well as increases in toll taxes and what they describe as heavy-handed policing on highways and motorways.
The action comes at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which is trying to stabilize its economy under an International Monetary Fund-backed reform program that places emphasis on controlling inflation and improving fiscal discipline.
“Prolonged strikes cause losses to all stakeholders, particularly those associated with the transport sector,” Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said while chairing a meeting with representatives of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, according to the statement.
Transporters briefed the government on their concerns, including axle-load regulations, toll charges and enforcement practices.
The communications minister said the government was committed to resolving all legitimate issues “through dialogue and consultation” and confirmed that a five-member committee formed earlier had been tasked with finding a solution. He directed a senior delegation to immediately travel to Karachi to continue negotiations and seek a timely and amicable resolution.
The government also pledged to address issues related to driving licenses, road safety and accident prevention on a priority basis, while stressing that axle-load regulations were designed to protect national highways and improve long-term safety.
Representatives of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance expressed satisfaction over the progress of talks and assured the government of their cooperation, reaffirming their preference for constructive engagement, the statement said.
Authorities have warned that a prolonged transport shutdown could deepen economic disruptions, particularly by affecting port operations, industrial supply chains and the distribution of essential goods.
