Pakistan senate body seeks inclusive CPEC authority

Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee seek the equal representation of all the provinces in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority and expressed concerns that there was a sense of "deprivation" among the provinces about the CPEC projects, local media reported on Thursday.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, chaired by Saleem Mandviwala of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), expressed its concerns on Wednesday while discussing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Express Tribune reported.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman deplored the sense of "deprivation" among the provinces about the projects related to CPEC. Rehman stressed that coordination with the provinces on CPEC projects was crucial, the Pakist newspaper reported.

It further reported that Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on CPEC Khalid Mansoor, while sharing details of the CPEC deals made with the Chinese compes, said that provinces were involved in Joint Working Groups (JWGs). Mansoor further said that the provinces were being provided equal facilities under the current framework.

Mandviwala stressed that the representatives of the provinces should also be included in the CPEC authority. "Why do you object to the due representation of provinces in the CPEC Authority?" he asked, according to The Express Tribune.

In 2015, China announced an economic project in Pakistan worth USD 46 billion. With the CPEC, Beijing aims to expand its influence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia in order to counter the influence of the United States and India.

The CPEC project would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region.

( With inputs from ANI )