Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Syed Ali Zafar on Monday asserted that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a long term project that ensures development and progress of Pakistan as well as enhancing regional connectivity.

While addressing a concluding session of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) in Islamabad, he said that China has played an important role for Pakistan’s development.

“China is our all-weather and time-tested friend and strategic partner,” he said while stressing on power, infrastructure and industrialisation as important factors to define prosperity of the country.

Moreover, he revealed that CPEC involves establishment of industries at a later stage.

“China has successfully completed many projects in Pakistan, and all provinces were taken onboard regarding roadmap of CPEC during a meeting of Joint Coordination Committee of both countries,” he added. He said chief ministers of all the four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan had expressed satisfaction over the decisions made in the last JCC meeting.

Zafar further claimed that Pakistan officially supports China over issues of Tibet and Taiwan, whereas Beijing shares commonality with Islamabad over Kashmir dispute. Later, in an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan, he refuted Indian allegations over CPEC as ‘baseless’. “India must immediately stop human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir,” he responded.

Regarding Kalabagh Dam issue, he suggested that no decision should be made without the consent of all political parties.

Published in Daily Times, June 26^th 2018.