Before I share the notes on CPEC I thought I would share the Achievements of the Punjab Govt.
I attended a round table discussion on CPEC (I believe it stands for China Pakistan Economic Corridor).
A few salient points I gathered from the talk:
(1) there seem to be two routes for CPEC; one via West Punjab, Sindh and the other via KPK/Baluchistan.
(2) the Brits historically conceived as India ending West of the Indus and the start of Central Asia. British strategic planning in what was to become West Pakistan (West of the Indus) was essentially security related; to prevent incursions from the North West. Hence the discordance of railways in inner India and the lack of connectivity in Outer India (West of Indus). British approaches to West Pakistan would later formulate colonial approach to much of Africa (mitigation & mining as opposed to management; as the academic used the shorthand “diamond & slaves approach).
(3.) CPEC is a “black box” at the moment; very little information available on it at the moment. Criticism is also very muted and in fact there are reports of Pakistan societies in the UK being coerced to “shut up” by governmental authorities.
(4.) I raised the point that CPEC could never really be an economic endeavour but is a masquerade for PAK foreign policy. Lahore-Delhi and/or Bombay/Khi Links would generate tremendous eco-cultural several orders of magnitude to CPEC.
I’ll add more points as they come to mind..