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Tuesday 22 November 2016

Ignored Pakistani Interests in CPEC(China Pakistan Economic Corridor)

While China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is well underway fast becoming a reality, certain Pakistani interests in this scenario are being ignored, not only by the Chinese government, but also by the Pakistani state.



It is now a taboo in Pakistan to criticise CPEC while any act as such may be marked as treasonous by the ultra nationalists. However, we need to realise the impact of treating CPEC and its related projects as the divine verses/orders. CPEC is not any holy grail, but after all a business venture, which must address the concerns of common Pakistanis and secure their interests.

China may be treating Pakistan with complete sincerity, but is investing in Pakistan only through state run organisations and mega business enterprises. This is creating a monopoly which will restrict the benefits of CPEC to that monopoly alone. It is understood that China is doing only what suits her interests best and being a communist socialist republic finds itself comfortable dealing with state run institutions and mega businesses having the blessings of the state. However, this situation does not suit the aspirations and interests of the common Pakistanis who are willing and able to raise their voices in order to secure their interests in a democratic republic ruled by a mostly corrupt regime.

China may have secured the Chinese interests in partnership with the Pakistani state institutions for now. But in the longer run, if they continue to ignore the interests of the common people in Pakistan , they are looking at a Pak-US like scenario, where they would be paying/investing money in Pakistan, but the disenfranchised masses at Pakistan would work to sabotage the CPEC and related infrastructure to redress their grievances.

China must understand, that the security establishment of Pakistan which is currently fully on board with them regards CPEC ultimately works to full-fill the national aspirations of Pakistani citizens. If the common Pakistani people feel disenfranchised by the CPEC, which benefits the largely corrupt monopoly created by China, these same people will aspire for the opposite of their present enthusiasm regarding the CPEC.

The dominating Pakistani interests being ignored regards CPEC are :-

  • Chinese emphasis on working with Punjabi strongmen like Shahbaz Sharif ignoring the leaders of smaller provinces.
  • Chinese emphasis on conducting business with only state run/mega business enterprises ignoring the small and medium business owners/entrepreneurs.
  • Chinese and Pakistani government's failure to address the environmental impact and carbon imprints of CPEC/related projects like the coal based power plants being made in Pakistan by China.
  • Chinese emphasis on primarily investing in Punjab working with the Punjab dominated Pakistani federal government ignoring the smaller provinces. Projects like "Orange Train" at Lahore under the banner of CPEC is uncalled for.
  • Chinese and Pakistani government's lack of interest in establishing a 'limited visa free transit' for each other's nationals which is only restricted to the government officials for now.
CPEC and its related projects can only be sustainable and profitable for both China and Pakistan if the above stated interests of the common people of Pakistan are secured and ensured in the long run.

People to people, not only government to government exchanges is the key to move forward by both countries in order to understand the aspirations and interests of each other.

'People' and their 'prosperity' are two major pillars for the masses of both China and Pakistan to make CPEC and One Belt One Road(OBOR) project a resounding success for the long term. And as the Chinese would wisely say, "if you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want one hundred year of prosperity, grow people". 
At Pakistan, we wish to grow it all including grain, trees and people alongside our Chinese friends. Only that will suffice to make the hype created by CPEC become a reality for the masses.

I would like to conclude by quoting a Chinese proverb:-
                                      "To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art"       




                

Sunday 13 November 2016

How Did Donald Trump Win?



Donald Trump won the US Presidential elections essentially due to his campaign managers and his "homework" rather than "hard work". He concentrated on manipulating and capitalising on the electoral system rather winning popular votes which he couldn't. Donald Trump's winning strategy was based on two basic pillars. First was to voice popular sentiments in the US in plain and blunt language, while the second pillar was to exploit the US fault-lines which included her foreign policy which is mostly hypocritical in nature.



Donald Trump beat the phenomenal lobbying against his candidacy by offering an alternative to the status quo to the American people.  Hillary failed to do the same irrespective of her glamorous campaign supported by all the right quarters which makes any candidacy a winning bet. The impoverished white America in particular wanted to believe anything that would mean a change, even a lie, to go back to relive the American dream somehow. Trump made them that promise, which he may well not be able to keep, but he made it anyway. Donald Trump told the working class Americans,  in particular those living in the states with most electoral votes, that he will "make America great again". He repeated himself enough to make them all believe in his rhetoric.

While the American left only laughed and ridiculed Donald Trump, his campaign and the supporters he had; they only alienated the masses further toward the rite. The average Joe in America, which makes a sizeable dominant majority, simply wanted to listen to what Donald Trump had to say. They were awed by the chest thumping and promises of remaking the American dream with foul mouthed boasting against any opposition to Donald Trump, for he spoke the language they all understood perfectly well.

in contrast, Hillary represented the status quo which offered no radical promises, keeping in view the ground facts which were known to her, she just laughed at the gimmicks of Donald Trump, not taking him seriously. Those very gimmicks won Trump the election and left Hillary flabbergasted. Trump knew his audience well and spoke their language working on their insecurities, concentrating on the states with most electoral votes he knew that would swing in his favour.

While all political pundits around the world predicted Hillary to win the US Presidential elections, she only proved them right to the extent of winning the popular vote. Donald Trump on the other hand check mated all his opposition by working on winning the electoral seats/votes. He was able to do so, with the racist bias in his campaign by the white population in America, who were pushed in to a corner by the cultured yet naive democrats.

The price of the democrat's choice of making Hillary as their candidate and trying to brush all the legitimate concerns of republican vote bank under the carpet would be paid by a reality TV star acting out his role in the white house for next four, who knows eight years. Donald Trump would surely oversee the demise of the USA's era as the sole superpower of the world. More importantly, whether he's able to deliver upon his promises or not, would decide the state of the union of the USA.