Daily Times

Pakistan and China have launched a direct rail and sea freight service, with the first cargo train departing from Yunnan, an inland province in south-west China. Reportedly, a cargo train loaded with 500 tonnes of commodities, left Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, for Karachi on Thursday. The train is destined for China’s port city of Guangzhou, where the cargo will be loaded on ships and then transported to Karachi. The new rail, sea freight will significantly cut logistics cost and herald a new era of trade development in both countries. This service is a part of China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative, which also entails $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project (CPEC). An excellent start of trade and economic activity between Pakistan and China, the road and rail projects would not only boost intra-trade but also raise the image of Pakistan as a stable country.

Despite the positive prospects of development for both states, security fears still linger over the CPEC in some increasingly restive areas in Balochistan. The significance of Gwadar as an alternative port linked with China (and later Central Asia) warrants undoubted attention. But linking Gwadar to the rest of Pakistan and on to the western Chinese city of Kashgar, 3,000 kilometres away, would involve major infrastructural work in Balochistan. The project is a part of Beijing’s plan to expand its trade footprint across South Asia and avail an easier access to the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe. But questions still remain about Pakistan’s ability to absorb this investment given its chronic problems with militancy, separatism, political volatility, inefficiency, and corruption.

Currently, internal and external transport linkages are missing in Gwadar in addition to a lack of other infrastructural facilities. Gwadar’s only usable link with the rest of the country is the Makran Coastal Highway, but this means transporting goods via Karachi–a long and inefficient detour. Unless Gwadar is linked northwards with the national highway grid, the dream of a second port might not come true. Planning in its proper sequence is required. There is a big difference between wishful thinking and planning. Unlike in the past, sustainable development of Gwadar is required to help reduce the country’s dependence on an increasingly overcrowded Karachi Port. In order to tackle the challenge of unrest, the government needs to review its policies regarding Balochistan. There is a general resentment among its people regarding their alienation from the mainstream government policies. The Balochs should be made stakeholders in the economic corridor. It is high time that Pakistan adopts a rational approach instead of its reliance on military operations to kerb the nationalist insurgency. The history of insurgencies in Balochistan clearly validates the slim chances of solving the problem by force alone. A nuanced approach needs to be adopted to resolve Balochistan’s long-running issues politically. China has already started work on this long road to peace and development by extending generous largesse to Pakistan. It is now up to us to make the best of this golden opportunity. *