Thursday 28 May 2015

China Pakistan axis Beginning of a new cold, by Zulifiqar Shah

China Pakistan axis Beginning of a new cold, by Zulifiqar Shah
China and Pakistan recently have signed over one hundred agreements worth 64 billion USD in the field of infrastructure developments. These projects are mainly connected with the development and operations of the new and old seaports in Sindh and Balochistan as well as initiatives that connect China with coastal strip of these provinces, and also with Afghanistan bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa (KP), India bordering Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and landlocked Pakistani Punjab.
There are some geo-strategic and economic interest perspectives of these projects:

1. China want an easy and uninterrupted outreach near Africa, Europe, Middle East and Iran through Arabian Sea and Afghanistan through low altitude tracks of KP in Pakistan.

2. China also want to give a permanent strategic checkmate to India at its western borders, although it has attempted similar on India's eastern and to certain extent deep southern borders. 

3. China will have an edge over the USA, the UK, Russian, India and France interests on the axis of Middle East - Central Asia. 

4. China would also remain a permanent check over India's economic and deep future's military coordination with Afghanistan and Iran through Port Abass in Iran.

4. Russia would be left with no other option than to depend on China alone concerning its Central and South Asian interests.

5.  Pakistan would regain its bygone strategic and economic importance after assuming these projects.

6. Pakistan is seeing these projects as the last life-line for the existence of country since three and half of the federating province out of four (Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa, and ethnic Siraki southern half of Punjab) and at least people of the two administered units Gilgit-Baltistan and Afghan bordering FATA have expressed their will to secede from Pakistan out of four administrative units (the remaining administrative units are Islamabad's Capital Territory and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir). 

7. Strategically high important and economic back bone provinces of Pakistan, Sindh and Balochistan, see these projects against the sovereignty as these would not permanently skew options for the freedom for these provinces from the monopoly of ethnic Punjabi Muslims, but also convert the indigenous majority of ethnic Sindhi and Baloch into permanent minorities in there historical motherlands. Pakistani establishment has also announced gigantic housing schemes in Sindh through the projects of Zulfiqarabad, Bahriya (Navy) Town, Malir Housing projects and others that are meant to transfer 20 million ethnic Punjabis to Sindh and at least 10 millions to Balochistan through Guwadar Port.

These new developments are potential not only to extremely change the Asiatic and global balance of power, but also is potential to turn the world into bi-polar power matrix and thus giving birth to a new cold war.

These developments would also challenge the interests and strategic niche of the European Union, USA, Canada, India, Australia, Japan, Israel, some middle eastern nations, Iran and India. 

What can be the possible way-outs to address these developments?

1. The possible affected nations outside and inside Pakistan join together against these developments, and people of Sindh and Balochistan are strengthened in their movements for the right to self determination and freedom.

2. USA, Russia and European Unions need an immediate coordination to minimise rifts caused by the Crimean situation
.
3. A consensus between and among USA, UK, China, Russia, France, Germany and India over these projects in a bid that the interests of almost all parties stand unchallenged as well as the interests of Sindh and Balochistan are also well addressed.

These new developments are completely unavoidable by and for the world powers and the concerned groups. Simultaneously, the concerns and sovereignty interests of Sindh and Balochistan can also not be avoided. Therefore, a new thinking and a set of new initiatives at large are required.


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