ISLAMABAD: The Federal government had notified earlier on Tuesday the appointment of Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Bajwa as the first chairman of CPEC Authority, a body established through a presidential ordinance last month.
In the notification issued by the Establishment Division, the competent authority appointed retired Lt Gen Bajwa as chairman of the CPECA, which comes under the planning and development ministry.
Retired Lt Gen Bajwa will get MP-I scale for a period of four years from the date of assuming the charge as chairman of the office with immediate effect and until further orders,” it stated.
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After US diplomat Alice Wells’s statement that Pakistan faced long-term economic damage with little return if China keeps pursuing its giant infrastructure push, since a new debate has been generated.
After her statement in Washington, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing, gave a point-by-point reply to Wells assertions, stressing that the CPEC was win-win cooperation for the benefit of the two countries.
Minister for planning Asad Umar also criticized over US concerns as “wrong analysis” and called CPEC a “blessing” for Pakistan.
“The CPEC projects are not a burden on Pakistan’s economy. Instead, they have provided a strong basis for industrial growth in the times to come,” Planning Minister Asad Umar told a news conference in Karachi last week.
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Retired Lt Gen Bajwa had served as Commander Southern Command before his retirement. He remained director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations from 2012 to 2016.
PTI government had established the CPECA through an ordinance in October, before the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Beijing. The basic aim of forming the authority is to ensure timely completion of the CPEC projects.
Prime minister Imran Khan has said the CPECA will help ensure coordination among the departments concerned.
Now opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party, have already rejected the CPECA and termed it a violation of recommendations of the parliamentary committee concerned.
PPP criticised the creation of the CPECA and said it undermined the authority of parliament, the PML-N was of the view that it would create problems and complications in collaboration between the ministries and departments. This would create bureaucratic hurdles and limitations that would hamper and stall the CPEC, they claimed.
Similarly, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman also criticised the formation of the CPECA and said the government was making the corridor project controversial.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said in a press conference that there was no need to establish a separate authority for the CPEC project, adding that it negated the parliamentary committee’s decision against such a body. He said the opposition would oppose the authority at all available forums.
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