LAHORE: The impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cannot be accurately predicted at this point of time as there may be various types of consequences of it, says economist Dr Imran Ali.

He was speaking in a meeting organised by the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) aimed at discussing social and economic impacts of the CPEC.

Contrary to what have been different narratives in the media, the economists present at the forum agreed that the exact impacts of any development project or progress could never be estimated.

“There will definitely be positive effects,” said Dr Imran Ali. “For example, the country has not seen any foreign investment in a very long time now and the CPEC may also push local investors and create good competition. But there are also questions like how are the resources going to be allocated and who will benefit from distribution of profits?”

Dr Ali pointed out that since the last 150 years the biggest investment was in the canal network. He said that there should have been more provinces because the current provinces were too big and smaller provinces would be able to handle the impacts of the CPEC better.

Dr Qais Aslam said Pakistan must see and change a lot of things within itself in order to adapt to the changes made by the CPEC.

“We need to concentrate on scientific education in public schools so that the youth is ready for the upcoming industries.

“We must have our labourers skilled according to international standards. Otherwise, Chinese labourers have very high productivity rates. We must be able to compete with them when it comes to the CPEC.”

Bushra Khaliq, human rights activist pointed out that Pakistan had signed many international protocols but none had been implemented without loopholes. Environment, labour, women and children’s rights and security issues were rampant among many others and the relevant laws were not being implemented fully. If Pakistan does not respect its own laws, especially those concerning labour, then foreign companies will not follow them as well, she said.

BLLF representatives, Dr Naushin Hamid, PTI MPA, and social mobilizers were also present.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2017