Indian attempts to sabotage CPEC

India keeps raising specious objections

CONCEPTUALLY speaking, characterization of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a game changer, an epoch-making step towards eternal strategic partnership between China and Pakistan, a catalyst to economic revolution in Pakistan and an engine to propel shared regional economic prosperity, is beyond reproach. And no person in his right mind can dare to contest these claims on any rational basis.

For a resource-constrained Pakistan, direct foreign investment which initially was $46 billion and swelled to $62 billion as of 2020 in the projects under the umbrella of CPEC, undoubtedly presents the best ever chance to nullify the effects of missed opportunities in the past, embarking on the path of a sustained economic growth and changing the economic profile of the country. For China also, the CPEC is a pivot of its strategy to revive the old Silk Route and gain easy access to the Arabian Sea for expanding its commercial interests globally. It certainly promises a win-win situation for both the countries and the entire region.

But unfortunately this envisaged economic bonanza is an eyesore for some countries, including India. Strenuous efforts are being made to sabotage its implementation. India never lets go any opportunity to harm Pakistan’s interests and has unleashed a sustained campaign to malign her, as revealed by the EU Disinfo Lab recently, and is in fact in the forefront to sabotage the CPEC. It has not only failed to respond to positive overtures by Pakistan for beginning a new chapter of amity between the two countries and peaceful resolution of the disputes between them, but it continues on the path of confrontation wedded to undermining the interests of Pakistan by all means.

According to media reports, a special desk has been created in RAW to undermine and thwart the implementation of the CPEC and the intelligence agencies of Pakistan have gathered authentic information to this effect. The RAW Chief, who reports directly to the Indian Prime Minster, is personally supervising the venture. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to China, reportedly expressed concern over Chinese investment in Pakistan under the

CPEC in his meeting with the Chinese President. The Indian position is that the Corridor would be passing through a disputed territory (GigitBaltistan). India, it may be pointed out, had also raised the same argument with the Asian Development Bank, which was one of the financiers of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, and the bank consequently had shown some reluctance in fulfilling its commitments after the Indian objections.

RAW has been backing and sponsoring insurgency in Balochistan and cross-border terrorism using Afghan territory. The nexus between RAW, TTP and the Afghan intelligence agency, DNS, is a wellknown fact. RAW has established sanctuaries and training camps for terrorists on Afghan soil. Pakistan has persistently raised this issue with the Afghan government to abolish these camps, which are being used by RAW to destabilize Balochistan, designed to undermine CPEC and for carrying out and sponsoring of acts of terrorism throughout Pakistan.

The modus operandi of RAW for sabotaging CPEC seems to be to exacerbate the security situation in Pakistan through acts of terrorism and consequently cause the creation of an ambience of despondency among the masses. It is pertinent to point out that the frequency of terrorist attacks in Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan increased tremendously after Pakistan and China signed agreements for initiating CPEC projects in Pakistan. The massacre of the members of the Ismaili community in Karachi on 13 May 2015, when the government had invited the entire political leadership for a briefing on the CPEC, was not just a coincidence, but a well-thought-out operation to create security concerns among the people as well as the Chinese leadership about the feasibility of implementing the proposed projects. All this coinciding with Modi’s visit to China and his raising the issue with Chinese leaders seemed a link in the same chain. The responsibility of this attack was claimed by TTP and Daesh, known to have links with India.

The arrest of Kulbhushan Jhadav in Balochistan and his confessions left no doubt about Indian support to insurgency in Balochistan and its sponsoring of acts of terrorism within Pakistan. The renewed spate of acts of terrorism in Balochistan and KPK also bear the footprint of Indian involvement.

Sabotaging the CPEC is also a part of the US-India nexus designed to contain China. A sustained campaign has been unleashed to create doubts about CPEC and the likely benefits to accrue to Pakistan. The biggest argument being advanced is that the Chinese loans would exponentially add to the debt burden of the country and Pakistan, like Sri Lanka, would be caught in the Chinese debt trap. The contention in this propaganda is contrary to the ground realities. The major portion of the CPEC projects are direct Chinese investment in Pakistan. The Chinese loans only constitute six percent of the total debt burden of Pakistan. The reality is that these loans have been advanced at rates lower than charged by the international lending agencies.

It is pertinent to point out that both Pakistan and China have repeatedly asked India to join CPEC and play its role in the shared economic prosperity of the region, as envisaged in the objectives of the BRI initiative of the Chinese President XI Jinping. The concept of ‘One Belt One Road’ envisions partnership with the countries along the route to develop infrastructure which is absolutely essential for sustainable development of any country. China has also established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is a major step towards providing required finances to the partner countries for the development of necessary infrastructure in their lands to be able to contribute to the shared economic prosperity and making the project a success as envisaged. It is estimated that the annual trade volume between China and ‘Belt and Road’ countries will surpass $2.5 trillion in a decade or so, changing the political and economic landscape of the world.

It is indeed a pity that the Indian leadership has failed to comprehend the benefits of CPEC to the region, including India itself, and instead is pursuing a policy to sabotage it at the behest of her strategic partners who are hell bent to stop China from emerging as the major economic and military power of the world, which in any case is bound to fail. China is now unstoppable. It is therefore in India’s own long-term interest to abandon its hostile posture towards Pakistan as well as its attempts to sabotage CPEC.

It is indeed a pity that the Indian leadership has failed to comprehend the benefits of CPEC to the region, including India itself, and instead is pursuing a policy to sabotage it at the behest of her strategic partners who are hell bent to stop China from emerging as the major economic and military power of the world, which in any case is bound to fail. China is now unstoppable. It is therefore in India’s own longterm interest to abandon its hostile posture towards Pakistan as well as its attempts to sabotage CPEC