ISLAMABAD: Senators belonging to opposition and coalition partners expressed serious reservations over CPEC projects and claimed that the government made it unnecessarily controversial. Federal Minister Shaikh Aftab termed it a project of national importance which would bring prosperity to both Pakistan and China. The discussion over China-Pakistan Economic Corridors (CPEC) project was initiated when the House took up an adjournment motion moved by Senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini Balochistan National Party (Mengal), who regretted that the government could not take the parliament into confidence. Even the government failed to provide a written agreement between the governments of Pakistan and China over CPEC. Senators claimed that the project would benefit only one province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were neglected in it. Though every senator said that they supported the CPEC project, they had certain reservations nonetheless. Azam Swati termed it a game changer that would bring prosperity and development in the country, but Meer Kabir claimed that there was nothing on the ground in CPEC, especially in Balochistan. Usman Kakar of Pakhtunkhwa Awami Milli Party was critical that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan had not been included in energy, motorways and energy projects of CPEC. The legislators urged the government to give priority to less developed areas of the country and take the smaller provinces into confidence to reap the real benefits of $46 billion CPEC Project. PTI’s Noman Wazir was of the view that China had included its restive and radicalised areas in the CPEC to bring them at par with developed areas of its country and the same policy should be adopted for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as these areas were the most affected areas from terrorism. During the agreement with China, the government had totally ignored the interest of the country and project was hugely beneficial to China. Ilyas Bilour of ANP was also critical that only a 45 kilometre road had been given to KPK in western route of CPEC and there was no energy and optic fibre projects in it. Sassi Palijo of PPP said various promises were made during the All Parties Conference on CPEC but these were not fulfilled. She alleged that the project was being diverted towards only one province and the Senate Committee had unanimously adopted resolutions to include Katti Bandar in CPEC which went unheeded. Sindh was also alleged to have been ignored in vision 2025. Javed Abbasi of PML-N said CPEC was an umbrella of projects and around $ 33 billion would be spent on energy related projects. Farhatullah Babar of PPP questioned the government’s judgement in keeping the House in the dark about the agreement signed in this regard. He said the local industries would suffer if materials and labour were imported from China, while Barrister Saif of MQM said the mere construction of roads and buildings could not bring prosperity to any nation. He said the sense of deprivation among the people would increase if there were no transparency in such mega projects. Saud Majeed of PML-N said that China always supported Pakistan in difficult situations and safeguarded its interests at international forums. Winding up the debate, the minister Shaikh Aftab said CPEC is a project which would totally change the shape of Pakistan and like the motorway and Metro bus, the people would remember CPEC project for ever. He requested all concerned to stop playing the blame game in this regard. During question hours, the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali informed the House that electricity connections of major defaulters have been disconnected. He said that Rs73 billion were outstanding against Sindh Government and Rs63 billion rupees against the Azad Kashmir Government. He said special flights were operated to bring back the Pakistanis from Yemen in the wake of breakout of civil war there. He also said there were reports that about ten Pakistanis were languishing in Yemeni jails and the country would pursue legal action if proved that they were detained unjustly to bring them back home.