Aadi and I had a very lively discussion on where Pakistan is headed and the imminence of its collapse. It was a live session with lot of questions. The Q&A session was outstanding.
‘Sir, will China invade us?’ ‘We hear China has increased activities on the border’. Chinese consolidation activities on the LAC have prompted such reactions and fears. Lot of such inquiries from citizens within and outside India. Why? Bodies floating down Ganga, mass graves, lack of oxygen, medicines or hospital beds, botched vaccination program, uninterrupted work on Central Vista - all these have eroded our political capital immensely and seeded such doubts. Our national institutions are being compared to ‘rottweilers’ in the media. Economy? Unemployment figures and stock markets – both rattling up. Strangest combination. Rich getting richer and poor getting poorer. An ominous divergence which bodes ill. Leadership? Kis Chidiya ka naam hai bhai? National level paralysis in responding to the second wave. Erosion in comprehensive national power. Many have never experienced India being so weak. Nor did I for that matter. This frightening experience ...
Gwadar is going to be a hub of Central Asia trade. There isn't much shipping going on currently to Gwadar. However, the infrastructure is already there. There are three large berths for cargo ships. The CPEC built Eastbay Expressway was recently opened linking Gwadar to the national highway. Uzbekistan began construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway to Peshawar in March with an eye on using Gwadar and Karachi as landlocked Uzbekistan's outlets to the world.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most interesting thing about Gwadar is the one project that isn't being built. There is no actively pursued plan to build a railway linking Pakistan with Xinjiang. The Long Term Plan (2017-30) says nothing about a railway between the countries. https://www.pc.gov.pk/uploads/cpec/LTP.pdf That shows China doesn't view CPEC as mainly strategic, it's mainly commercial.