Pakistan- A colony in making
The fact that the Chinese have been trafficking brides from Pakistan is known for some time. But Pakistan is acting like a Chinese colony. It is evident from the increasing intervention of Chinese in the state affairs of Pakistan. The relationship between Pakistan and China started growing rapidly from the point when America’s and India’s relations started to strengthen. Pakistan has tied itself with a country which is making people live under horrible conditions solely on the basis of religion in concentration camps still Pakistan turns a blind eye to it.
It all started with promises of investment and business, then Chinese debt followed then followed by subversion of the minds of the common people and projection of China as the saviour of Pakistan.The political class of Pakistan is creating an environment for the growth of Mandarin speakers. In 2018, the Pakistani parliament passed a resolution that recommended that mandarin courses should be taught in Pakistan.
Almost half of the time has passed and CPEC has not been able to contribute even a single penny towards the GDP of Pakistan. Neither are there indications of achieving so in the next 3–5 years. At the same time, Chinese debts are mounting and the re-payment of these loans and interests is causing holes in the Pakistan economy. As per a new report, the per day rate of debt on Pakistan is almost 14 Billion rupees, which will rise to 20 Billion Rupees per day by the end of 2022 and 35 Billion Rupees per day by the end of 2025. That too at a time when Pakistan’s economy is contracting drastically, and the actual growth of its GDP is going into the negative.
Pakistan has ignored warnings that CCP’s “chequebook diplomacy” is essentially “debt trap diplomacy”. CCP has taken the BRI route to address its over-capacity issues, open up external markets, and offset rising domestic labor costs. Many CPEC projects are funded by financial institutions backed by the CCP and explicitly or implicitly require Pakistan to mandatorily outsource projects exclusively to Chinese companies. CCP’s large-scale infrastructure development in CPEC continues to be devoid of any corresponding investments in local human capital and future self-reliance. Beijing’s strategy is to position itself as a fish hawker in Pakistan, but not teach Pakistan how to fish.
Eyes of a few people are opening after Chinese trawlers started huge amounts of illegal fishing in Pakistani waters as one person said “Before the beginning of the CPEC and Gwadar port [deal], we were told that it would change our lives by bringing development and employment for us”. But we are losing our livelihoods and the sea.” But this is not the thinking of all people this is just a grain of sand on a beach.
