China-Pak Economic Corridor will not benefit locals in the region: Defence Expert

New Delhi [India], Aug 29 (ANI): With Baloch and Sindhi leaders protesting against the ongoing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Balochistan outside the Chinese Embassy in London, Defence Expert P. K. Sehgal on Monday said that under no circumstances will the people permit the corridor to come into existence, as it is in no way beneficial to them. "The difficulties of laying these corridors have almost become insurmountable. This is the most prestigious project of the Chinese president Xi Jinping under the name of One Belt, One Road," Sehgal told ANI here. The Defence Expert said that the people of Pakistan and Sindh have gone miserable and there has been a huge displacement of the people without any rehabilitation efforts. "Huge amount of natural disaster are beginning to take place because the ecological devastation that has been brought. And they will under no circumstances permit the coming into being of this corridor which will only benefit the Punjab province of Pakistan and in no way will benefit the local people whatsoever. And the other beneficiary is China. Hence the protest," Sehgal told ANI here. Sehgal further said it is very clear that both China and Pakistan have been rattled beyond belief after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement from the ramparts of Red Fort on the 15th of August. This is a first such joint protest by the activists belonging to different organisations for a common purpose of ceasing CPEC activities and preventing gross human rights violations. The umbrella protest includes the Sindhi Baloch Forum (SBF), the World Sindhi Congress (WSC), the Baloch National Movement (BNM), the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), the Baloch Human Rights Council UK (BHRC-UK), the Baloch Students and Youth Association (BSYA) and the Baloch Students organisation. The protest was attended by activists and nationalist leaders who shouted slogans against Pakistan security agencies for committing gross human rights violations in the name of a economic pact. They claimed that thousands of people were displaced to facilitate a wide array of projects under the CPEC without a proper plan of rehabilitation or providing any compensation. World Sindhi Congress Chairman Laku Luhana told ANI that the CPEC was not an economic project, but rather a matter of life and death for the Baloch and the Sindhis. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Balochistan" and "Kadam Badhao Modiji hum tumhare saath hain" slogans were raised in the protest here. The Baloch and the Sindhi activists also raised slogans like "No to CPEC" and "Hai haq humara aazadi". Activists, both at the international and the local level, have been raising their voices against the CPEC, dubbed as a 'game changer' by the Pakistani establishment. Niaz Baloch told ANI that they want to give the message that the Baloch will never accept the CPEC. The protest at Portland Place, opposite the Chinese Embassy, also showed that the demonstrators were eyeing larger support from the world community. Noordin Mengal, another Baloch activist, said they want to tell Pakistan and China that they can't do anything without their consent. The USD 46 billion economic pact has been projected as a major boost for the economy by the Pakistan government, but locals in Balochistan say they have not benefited one bit from the CPEC. The life of the people has become more miserable after the government's ambitious CPEC project saw the light of day. The ecology of the area has also been deeply disturbed, and the entire region has repeatedly faced natural disasters. (ANI)