Sharing CPEC facts
APROPOS the editorial ‘Sharing CPEC facts’ (June 23). It is a well-known fact that secret agreements were made by the PML-N government with different Chinese parties involved in the project.
At the time of the signing, many well-wishers of Pakistan had voiced serious reservations against these agreements that pushed the nation into heavy debt.
Even at the time of the signing of the agreement, the PTI leadership had vowed to revisit the issue once it was in power. However, the agreements made by one government can have serious repercussions for succeeding administrations.
The PTI leadership after coming to power initiated serious efforts to get some of the clauses changed in the country’s favour. There is much that has been changed to favour Pakistan. For the sake of both countries’ interests, it is not possible to make these changes public
Owing to PTI efforts, the monopoly of Chinese firms has been removed and third party entry has been made possible.
These are sensitive issues. Caution should be exercised when commenting on matters of vital importance to Pakistan.
Mohammad Ali Bhatti
Lahore
Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2020