Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that a 15,000-strong force had been entrusted with the security of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Chinese nationals working on the project.

He said this during a briefing to the Parliamentary Committee on the CPEC, which met here with Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed in the chair. The committee was briefed by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior about the security of the CPEC and the steps the government had taken to protect the Chinese nationals and projects under the CPEC. The committee was informed that a 15,000-strong force consisting of 9,000 regular soldiers of the Pakistan Army and 6,000 personnel of paramilitary forces would comprise the Special Security Division (SSD), which would be entrusted with the duty of protection of the Chinese nationals and projects under the CPEC.

Additionally, Rs 1.3 billion has been allocated for the CPEC security. The SSD has been set up at the cost of Rs 5 billion in one year’s time, the committee was informed. The government has decided to ensure security of vulnerable coastal areas through a maritime security agency and the Pakistan Air Force. The committee directed the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior to sort out the issue of terms of reference for the CPEC security at the earliest.

Iqbal informed the committee about his interaction with the provincial governments, particularly the chief minister and parliamentary leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said they were now satisfied with the CPEC projects, especially the western route, which was being constructed according to the plan and according to the decision taken at the May 28, 2015 All Parties Conference. He told the committee that Gwadar to Quetta section of the western route would be completed by December 2016. He said that contract for construction of the western route from Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had already been awarded to the National Logistic Cell and it would be completed by September 2018. He said that 10,000 megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid by June 2018 and this would help the government to overcome the prevailing energy crisis.

The minister invited the members of the parliamentary committee to attend the CPEC Summit being organised by his ministry in Islamabad on August 29 to take the private sector on-board the multi-billion dollar project. He described the CPEC Summit as a national initiative, which would engage the private sector of both countries, Pakistan and China, in construction of CPEC projects.

Representatives of the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments informed the committee that talks were in progress on purchase of land for the Port Qasim project and resolution of the issue of land for the Suki Kinari hydropower project. Responding to the comments of Senator Sardar Fateh Muhammad Muhammad Hassani about Iqbal’s efforts to strengthen the CPEC, the parliamentary committee welcomed his commitment and hard work and expressed the hope that other ministers of the federal government would also work with the same commitment on the CPEC, which was a national strategic project.

Sayed briefed the committee about his recent visit to China where he attended the Silk Route Forum in the Xinjiang Province. He said there was a good representation of Pakistan at the international forum, which was an annual feature. He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister would visit China in September this year. He said that Pakistan would host the next Silk Route Forum in Islamabad in August 2017.

Rana Mohammad Afzal, Ghous Bux Mahar, Alhaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi, Sardar Fateh Muhammad Muhammad Hassani, Lt-Gen (Retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Shibli Faraz, Baz Mohammad Khan and Khalid Mahmood, secretary of the parliamentary committee, also attended the meeting.