Junaid Qureshi
says CPEC disastrous for Gilgit Baltistan
Asks Kashmiris to
oppose the plan
London, 6 Sept 2015: Speaking at a
Conference in London, organized by JK International People’s Alliance on ‘The
China Pakistan Economic Corridor and its effects on the region’, Junaid
Qureshi (writer and Head Diplomatic Affairs JKDLP) has termed the
construction of the CPEC as illegal as it runs through Gilgit Baltistan which
is part of Jammu & Kashmir state and future status of which still needs to
be decided according to the wishes of the people living in Jammu, Ladakh, the
Kashmir Valley, Pakistan Administered Kashmir and indeed, Gilgit Baltistan.
He emphasized he is
not averse to economic development, solutions to Pakistan’s growing economic
crisis or the eradication of poverty, but he believes that the origins of this
corridor can be traced back to the Border Agreement of 1963 in which Pakistan
ceded more than 5000sq miles of Jammu & Kashmir to China. Junaid Qureshi
further said that throughout its history there have been many attempts to
change the demographics of Gilgit Baltistan and that the China Pakistan
Economic Corridor is a new and deliberate attempt to change the demographics of
the actual Kashmir-Issue.
“China’s investment
of 46 billion dollars and the purchase of eight attack submarines and six patrol
vessels by Pakistan, which will elevate China as Pakistan’s primal arms
provider, have all the ingredients to exacerbate the complexities of the
Kashmir-Issue, threaten peace and cement China’s stake in Jammu & Kashmir,”
Qureshi said, adding any kind of solution to the long standing Kashmir-Issue
will only be jeopardized by these kind of intrusions.
“Chinese investment
of billions of dollars guarantees their strategic interests in Jammu &
Kashmir and will de facto make it one of the largest stakeholders in the
Kashmir-dispute,” he added.
He further said that
the people in Gilgit Baltistan are not in need of such corridors of
exploitation. “They are longing for their political liberties for the past 70
odd years. The economic potential of Gilgit Baltistan is such, that had the
people been masters of their own destiny and not treated as a colony by
Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan could finance the complete construction of the China
Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he said.
Giving details about
the potential of Gilgit Baltistan, Junaid Qureshi said that there is an
abundance of water resources, minerals worth billions of dollars and an ocean
of undiscovered tourism potential in this part of Jammu & Kashmir.
“The region harbors
5000 glaciers, including three of the largest in the world outside of the polar
regions and has almost 2500 glacial lakes. The potential of power is 52.000 MW,
while the requirement of the indigenous population is just 150 MW,” he said.
Talking about the
impact of the CPEC on environment and ecology, Qureshi said that toxic gasses
by heavy traffic flow and construction works related to the establishment of
this corridor will only enhance the melting of the world’s largest reservoir of
fresh water glaciers. All the departments of forest, power, tourism and
minerals are currently under the direct control of the Gilgit Baltistan
Council, which is headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. All the minerals of
Gilgit Baltistan will be used as raw material for the construction of this corridor
without yielding any royalties or benefits to the local people living there.
The proposed shifting of the Sost Dry port from Gilgit Baltistan to Havelian
will also result in devastating loss of business for the inhabitants of Gilgit
Baltistan.
He said that, while
we Kashmiris protest land transfers and other conspiracies to change the
demographics of Jammu & Kashmir State in Srinagar, we must also protest
against the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as it is an attempt to further
destabilize the region in general and the Kashmir-Issue in particular.
He said that, the
people of Gilgit Baltistan are equal stakeholders in the Kashmir-Issue and
Gilgit Baltistan is part of Jammu & Kashmir State. He emphasized that the 2
million people living in Gilgit Baltistan are as much Kashmiri as the Kashmiris
living in other parts of J&K State.
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