Pakistan caretaker PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar for expediting Chinese schemes

Anwaarul Haq Kakar, the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan has directed the appropriate authorities to guarantee farmers have a continuous supply of fertiliser during the Rabi season and to accelerate the implementation of projects carried out in cooperation with China, Dawn reported.

Anwaarul Haq Kakar, the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan, has directed the appropriate authorities to guarantee that farmers have a continuous supply of fertiliser during the Rabi season and to accelerate the implementation of projects carried out in cooperation with China, Dawn reported. China and Pakistan inked 20 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in a number of fields, including mining and infrastructure, during the visit.

Separately, the caretaker prime minister gave the order to arrange fertiliser stock across the nation while presiding over a conference to examine the supply of urea for the Rabi crop. PM Kakar also ordered the timely and uninterrupted fertiliser supply to the farmers.

Directives were also issued to relevant ministries for a comprehensive mechanism for the smooth supply of fertilisers and to district administrations for keeping a check on fertiliser prices. Quoting the Associated Press of Pakistan, Dawn reported that Kakar said that the cooperation from Chinese companies and the Pakistani business community could prove helpful in promoting the tourism sector.

It's been almost a decade since China launched the much-hyped China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but the infrastructure project has failed to offshoot considerable economic growth in cash-strapped Pakistan. A report by DW highlighted the assessments of several experts who have concluded that CPEC's outcomes in Pakistan have fallen short of expectations. Azeem Khalid, a Pakistan-China relations scholar at COMSATS University Islamabad told DW, "The overpromising and underdelivering have remained a crucial factor, coupled with inherent capacity issues, and instability on the political and security fronts".

Khalid said that he believes the tangible benefits of CPEC for the Pakistani people have been limited, while the burden of public debt and payments to Chinese companies has surged. "It is safe to assert that the hype surrounding CPEC was more a product of propaganda than a reflection of reality. China, aided by elements within Pakistan's media and academia, vigorously marketed the project, leading to inflated expectations," he told DW.

The multi-billion dollar CPEC project pledges huge Chinese investment into developing rail and road links as it is intended to ship Chinese goods via the Xinjiang region across the mountain border through Pakistan and into the Arabian Sea at Gwadar Port. (ANI)

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