CPEC is Pakistan’s lifeline, will be protected like vital organs

Islamabad: China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a lifeline for Pakistan and will be protected like ‘vital organs,’ Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.

Speaking to Gwadar Pro on Thursday evening, he said all the CPEC projects were under complete security and were progressing well.

“The Dasu incident is a huge conspiracy and we have come to the conclusion of the investigations. The culprits will not be spared at any cost. We have even further enhanced the security of the CPEC projects and the Chinese nationals after the incident,” he said.

Ahmed said Pakistan and China had jointly investigated the Dasu incident which showed the trust level between the two historic friends.

The Interior Minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan had issued directives to expedite the work on CPEC projects all over the country.

He said any hurdle in CPEC projects will not be tolerated at any cost. “The Pakistani nation is united on CPEC,” Ahmed said.

Earlier, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the long term CPEC projects included major rail connectivity project in Balochistan that will connect Gwadar to Mastung via Turbat, Panjgur and Basima.

He said that Pakistan Railway’s Main Line-1 (ML-1) was the main railway corridor connecting Karachi seaport to the northern side of Pakistan up to Peshawar.

The minister told the Senate that apart from ML-1 being the early harvest project of CPEC, the long-term projects of CPEC include major rail connectivity projects in Balochistan.

He said that the detailed feasibility study was completed in 2019 at a cost of Pakistani Rs 149 million. “In this regard, Pakistan Railways has already acquired land in Gwadar to establish a railway station and container yard,” he said.

Minister for Railways Azam Swati separately said that once the ML-1 project enters into its execution phase, Pakistan Railways will take up the construction of Gwadar-Mastung and Basima-Jacobabad lines with the Chinese authorities.

At present, he said, two trains 39 Up 40 Down Jaffar Express and 349 Up/350 Down Chaman Mixed Passenger are running on daily basis on the route of Quetta Peshawar Cantt-Quetta and Quetta Chaman -Quetta respectively.

He said that Jaffar Express comprises all classes including air-conditioned sleeper, air-conditioned business, air-conditioned standard and economy along with services of dining car.