Attack on the Chinese Consulate: Main Target is Pak-China CPEC Project (JR83 SS01) By Sajjad Shaukat

Attack on the Chinese Consulate: Main Target is Pak-China CPEC Project (JR83 SS01)

                                                      By Sajjad Shaukat

Pakistan’s security forces successfully foiled an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi on November 23, this year.

In the exchange of firing, two policemen were martyred, including two civilians, as three gunmen tried to enter the consulate around 9:30am but were intercepted by security guards at a checkpoint.

Karachi Police Chief Dr Amir Shaikh said, “Three suspected suicide bombers were killed before they were able to enter the facility as forces successfully foiled the attack...They could not even get in the compound. They tried to get into the visa section…The men came to the consulate in a car which was loaded with explosives.”

The clearance operation was initially led by a female Police Officer Assistant Superintendent of Police Suhai Talpur. Her courage has been greatly appreciated by the top officials of Pakistan.

On the same day, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “All staff members of the Chinese consulate remained safe in the attack...It was a cowardly attempt by terrorists.”

The Director General of the Inter Services Publication Directorate (ISPR), Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor also confirmed by saying, “Terrorists attempted to enter Chinese consulate. Rangers and police have got control. Three terrorists killed. All Chinese are safe”. He also stated, “Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed grief at the martyrdom of two policemen in the attempted attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi’s Clifton area, hailing their sacrifice for the greater cause of protecting the citizens.”

While ordering an immediate inquiry regarding the assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack, terming it as a conspiracy against Pak-China economic and strategic relations. He stated, “The elements and motives behind this attack should be uncovered…the nation is proud of the prompt action of the Rangers and police…who were martyred foiling the attack.”

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry condemned the assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi and labeled it a “conspiracy”, targeting Pakistan-China socioeconomic and strategic ties.” He added, “Such incidents cannot hinder the friendship between the two neighbours.”

Almost all the leaders of the mainstream political and religious parties condemned the foiled assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi and hailed the role of the security forces in this respect.

Besides, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang stated on the same day of the incident, “China strongly condemned the attack on its consulate in Karachi all consular staff and their families were safe following the shooting…We highly appreciate the efforts of the Pakistani side…The Chinese embassy in Pakistan has extended condolences over the martyrdom of two Pakistani policemen and said any attempt to undermine China-Pakistan friendship is doomed to fail…the attack would not affect Beijing’s commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which seeks to connect its western province Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar, in Balochistan….China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners.”

It is notable that a separatist group of the Balochistan province, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility of the failed terror attempt on the Chinese consulate in Karachi through a tweet.  However, such claims of responsibility have no material value because all such anti-state elements always try to score numbers when an incident like this occurs.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s media and reliable sources disclosed that mastermind of terrorist attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi—Aslam alias Achu is a commander of BLA and is currently receiving medical treatment at Max Hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi.

Undoubtedly, it shows the connections of the Indian secret agency RAW in relation to the foiled attempt at the Chinese consulate of Karachi.

In other terror-related incident, on the same day, at least 35 people were killed and 50 wounded in a blast in Kalaya area of lower Orakzai district in Hangu.

It is of particular attention that armed forces of Pakistan have successfully broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists by the successful military operations Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad which have also been extended to other parts of the country, including Balochistan. And Pakistan’s primarily intelligence agency, ISI has broken the network of these terrorist groups by capturing several militants, while thwarting a number of terror attempts. But, in the recent past and during the election-campaign of 2019, blasts in Balochistan and other regions of the country, including the latest ones in Hangu and especially at the Chinese consulate in Karachi show that the US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel have again started acts of sabotage especially to destabilize Pakistan and to damage the CPEC which is their main target— particularly of India and America.  

Notably, the assassination of religious clear Maulana Samiul Haq, known as the “Father of the Taliban” on November 2, this year in Islamabad was part of the same scheme to weaken Pakistan, also due to the fact that Pakistan is the only nuclear country in the Islamic World.

It is mentionable that during the successful four-day visit of Premier Khan to China, Beijing on November 2, 2018, reportedly agreed to provide USD 6 billion in aid to cash-strapped Pakistan to minimise its dependence on an IMF bailout package. A loan of USD 1.5 billion is also expected to be offered, along with an additional package of USD three billion for CPEC. The loan and the investments were reportedly part of the USD six billion package. According to the joint statement, released on November 4, 2018, the two sides also signed fifteen Agreements/MoUs on a range of bilateral issues.

Pakistan and China also agreed to trade in their local currencies in an effort to reduce dependence on the US dollar. Particularly, Pakistan will save more than 12 billion dollars annually by importing goods in its local currency.

It is noteworthy that it is first time in the history of Pakistan that on November 20, 2018, the government led by P.M Imran Khan refused to accept tough conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a financial bailout package. Besides, other tough conditions such as further increase in power tariffs, imposition of more taxes etc., especially, the condition of sharing details related to Chinese financial assistance was also rejected. In fact, IMF is controlled by America, which has always imposed tough conditions to release loans in order to further destabilize Pakistan by targeting the general masses.  

It is also of particular attention that India was openly opposing the CPEC and China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) or BRI; the US also joined New Delhi. In this context, on October 3, 2017, US Defence Secretary James Mattis told the Lawmakers, “The United States has reiterated its support for India’s opposition to China’s One Belt, One Road initiative…the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a part of which traverses Pakistan-Kashmir.”

Islamabad strongly dismissed the statement from the American defence chief that the multibillion-dollar road and rail network “CPEC which is part of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, passes through a disputed territory of Kashmir”, urging “the international community to focus on blatant human rights violations and heinous crimes committed by Indian occupation forces in the Indian Occupied Kashmir” (IOK), and reminded the US that Washington had also participated in an OBOR summit.

Earlier, a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry also dismissed Mattis’ statement, saying that the OBOR plan was backed by the United Nations and that CPEC was an economic cooperation initiative.

In this regard, repeated threats of the US President Donald Trump and top American officials to Islamabad and other moves like suspension of latter’s aid were part of the same scheme to thwart the CPEC.

The fact is that Indian lobbies which are well-penetrated in the US administration and Europe, research centers, think tanks and so-called human rights groups utilize the media tools in defaming Pakistan internationally. Especially, Indian RAW is availing the opportunity of the US-led organized propaganda campaign against Pakistan. Now, CPEC is special target of these hostile entities.

The reality is that when Gwadar seaport becomes fully operational, it would connect the landlocked Central Asian states with rest of the world. Being the commercial hub, the port is likely to increase volume of trade, bringing multiple economic and financial benefits to Pakistan like the Suez Canal which changed the destiny of Egypt when Israel returned it to the former. It will enable high-volume cargo vessels to move in the major oceans. Gwadar project which is backbone of the CPEC will uplift the impoverished people of Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, including developments in other provinces by providing thousands of employment opportunities, particularly to the less developed areas by redressing their grievances. The resulting prosperity in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan would damp the separatist sentiments of the people, which the hostile elements, supported by the US, India and Israeli do not want. Therefore, these entities and their media describe the CPEC in negative terms.

As a matter of fact, since the occupation of Afghanistan by the US-led NATO forces, the country has become center of CIA, RAW and Israeli Mossad which are in connivance to obtain the covert designs of the their countries and some Western countries against Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran. Under the cover of fighting terrorism, these foreign agencies which are also in collaboration with the Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security (NDS), support the militants of ISIS and Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including their linked outfits which have been conducting terror-assaults in Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of the secret strategy of the US-led countries. Besides, these terrorist outfits are weakening Tibetan regions of China and Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan through subversive activities.

Notably, on March 24, 2016, Pakistan’s security forces disclosed that they arrested the serving agent of RAW in Balochistan. During investigation and in a video, shown on Pakistan’s TV channels, RAW agent Kulbushan Yadav confessed that “he was the agent of RAW” and “during his stay, he contacted various Baloch separatist leaders and insurgents, including Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, to execute the task to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” project. Yadav admitted that he spied for India and was “assigned with the task to create unrest in Karachi and Balolchitan.”

Nevertheless, one has to evoke as to who could be the prime beneficiary of such an action against the Chinese in Pakistan. These are those elements who do not want to see Pakistan– China cooperation which has put the country on the road to progress.

In this connection, P.M. Imran Khan’s very successful visit to China and the advancements in the CPEC are of great distress and discomfort for those who do not want to see such initiatives, taking place between the two countries. In simple words this attack at the Chinese consulate was an attack on the CPEC and Pak-China friendship.

It is worth-mentioning that Karachi, the financial capital of Pakistan, reportedly has number of sleeping cells being operated by RAW, NDS and other hostile intelligence agencies. It is evident that the terrorist were part of these sleeping cells. Pakistan’s investigation units and intelligence agencies have already pointed out that such cells are being operated by RAW, NDS and other hostile agencies in Karachi.

In the recent years, these anti-Pakistan secret agencies have been conducting frequent attacks on the Pakistani forces and Chinese manpower working in Pakistan as well as on projects being completed under CPEC is going to change the fate of the people of this region especially Pakistan.

China and the US are pitched against each other on trade war. Asia and especially this region, being the economic future of the world, have gained attention of the world powers. This is the reason, why America has been spending billions of dollars just to stay in Afghanistan, despite the tremendous reverses being faced by the Americans. This interest goes till the extent where the US is now ready to even negotiate with their biggest adversary, the Talibans, just to maintain their presence in Afghanistan under the nose of China and Pakistan.

India being the collation partner of the US has opened 22 consulates in Afghanistan to counter the economic prosperity of Pakistan and CPEC and for working hands in glove with the NDS to generate unrest in Pakistan through sabotage and terrorism.

It means that being the future economic hub, this region; particularly Pakistan could face more terrorism-related events in the coming days. So, it is in their collective interests that both Islamabad and Beijing should remain focused on their economic goals and remain steadfast to meet similar future challenges.  

Again, it is pointed out that initial operation at the Chinese consulate was led by a female Police Officer ASP Suhai Talpur, which proves that Pakistani girls and women folks are on the forefront to defeat evil designs of CIA-RAW-NDS nexus.

We can conclude that the CPEC is the main target of the foiled attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi.

Note: I have updated my similar article.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

CPEC and Agriculture

CPEC and Agriculture

Introduction:

CPEC has been called a game changer and has many aspects one of which is the agriculture component. The CPEC plan reveals, thousands of acres of farmland will be leased out to Chinese enterprises in Pakistan.  Chinese enterprises will be allowed access to large tracts of Pakistani farmland, either by lease or purchase. On that land, they will allegedly be permitted to operate their own farms and processing facilities, backed by robust capital grants and loans from Beijing and the Chinese Development Bank. Keeping in view the fact that agriculture sector accounts for around 20 per cent of Pakistan`s GDP and employs over 40pc of the country`s labor force, both Pakistan and China have agreed to enhance cooperation on agriculture under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),

China and Pakistan have an agreement to promote the transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture in the regions along the CPEC to effectively boost the development of local agricultural economy and help local people get rid of poverty and become better off, strengthen the up-gradation of agricultural infrastructure, promote the construction of water saving modern agricultural zones, and increase the development and remediation of medium and low-yielding land to achieve efficient use of resources

Due to shortage of arable land and freshwater resources in China, the country needs to import land-extensive crops (such as wheat and rice) to feed its population. Further, with rising living standards, the Chinese demand for agricultural imports is gradually moving up, which is likely to create agro-based trade opportunities in countries having substantial potential in agriculture produce. China`s demand for cotton yarn and rice imports is met by the emerging economies of Asia, such as Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand and India.  

The recent trade war between USA and China will possibly hurt both parties but it does present opportunities to others Chinese imports from the US are mostly agricultural produce. Pakistan is a natural agricultural country. Its climate and hard-working workforce are a blessing for the nation. China faces a decreasing agriculture output per capita since there is a rural to urban migration, economic growth has brought about significant increase in family food budgets, urban wages are significantly higher than rural wages, and the levels of demand are not being met with by domestic sources.

Trade Balance between Pakistan and China:

Trade between Pakistan and China is lopsided. To address this gap the agriculture potential can be utilized .The low volume of trade between Pakistan and China is not reflective of the economic size of two neighboring countries. This indicates there is a huge untapped trade potential in both countries.

China is the world’s largest importer of agricultural products. In 2015, China imported $160 billion worth of agricultural products. However, Pakistan’s share in these exports was minuscule — less than half a percentage point — despite having a large agrarian base and a shared border with China. With a population of 1.3 billion people, China consumes almost $1 trillion worth of food every year. With increased urbanization and rising incomes, Chinese consumption patterns are also changing, and demand for high quality imported food items is growing at a pace much faster than population growth. Therefore, the domestic consumption is expected to grow by another $500 billion in the next 10 years. it takes about one acre of arable land to feed an average US consumer. With present population, China only has about 0.2 acre per citizen, which is going to be far short of future requirements, considering the evolving demand.

China, the world’s largest importer of vegetables, gets 50 of these imports from the US and Brazil. In the world of international trade, shorter distances can provide a strategic advantage through lower transportation costs. But for perishable items like food, such proximity can translate into yet another edge. During transit over long distances, food items face higher risk of spoilage and contamination. Because of this, not only additional cost is incurred for preservation and packaging but often exporters have to make use of extra pesticides to increase shelf-life of food. Pakistan, being China’s neighbor, therefore enjoys a unique advantage and CPEC provides an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on that.

Initiatives already under way:

Various agricultural projects have been initiated to get maximum benefit of the CPEC initiative, which include: Fruit processing industry in Gilgit-Baltistan: The climate and fertile soil of Gilgit-Baltistan offer ideal environment for producing fruits like apples, peach, cherries, almonds, apricot, etc. According to an article published by the Asian Development Bank, farmers in Gilgit-Baltistan produce over 100,000 tones of fresh apricots a year. Setting up the fruit processing industry in the region would help boost the country`s fruit exports.

Meat production and processing facilities in KP: Setting up of meat production and processing facilities in KP would help increase Pakistan`s meat exports to China, as well as, to Afghanistan and Central Asian market. KP-China Sustainable Donkey Development Program: To increase the donkey population in Pakistan so as to ensure interrupted backward supply for export of live animals and raising income of donkey breeders and traders. 

Under CPEC, efforts are being made to strengthen drip irrigation technology for water efficiency, strengthen cooperation in the fields such as crop farming, livestock breeding, forestry and food growing, and aquatic and fishery, with the highlight on technical exchange and cooperation in the fields of development of comprehensive agricultural production capacity, construction of farmland water conservancy facility and agricultural products circulation facility.

The CPEC Agri sector is also focusing on improving post-harvest handling, storage and transportation of agricultural products and innovates in marketing and sales models, Improve water resources operation and management, strengthen development of pastoral areas and desert, and promote application of remote sensing technology.

The key cooperation areas focus on strengthening production of agriculture inputs particularly pesticides, fertilizer, machinery and support services including agriculture education and research, collaboration in forestry, horticulture, fisheries and livestock medicines and vaccines as well as strengthening production of horticulture products.

Rationale of Intervention:

Pakistan is among the top 10 producers of many crops such as rice, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, milk, meat, mangos, chickpeas, and citrus fruits. But because of a poor economy and lack of modern techniques and technology, it has not been able to exploit its strength in the agriculture sector fully. However, China’s experience in agriculture has been very successful, and the progress it has made in this sector during the past four decades is amazing.

China was facing food shortages just 40 years ago, but with its reforms in the agriculture sector from 1978-84, it successfully turned shortages into surpluses, and began exporting produce to other countries and generating foreign exchange. China pulled around 500 million people out of poverty within just six years of its reforms in the agriculture sector. Chinese scientists, technologists and farmers worked very hard, developed new varieties and new techniques, and the country modernized its farming patterns. Now Chinese agricultural enterprises are mature, experienced and financially strong.

They could enter Pakistan’s huge untapped huge market and make joint ventures with local entrepreneurs to exploit the real potential of Pakistan’s agriculture sector. This would help Pakistan’s economy to take off and would also be a good opportunity for Chinese entrepreneurs to make good profits as well as compensate for any disturbance caused by US export of agricultural produce  

Coordination Efforts:

Sino-Pakistan Hybrid Rice Research Centre at Karachi University: Both countries have recently initiated research to produce high-yielding and high-quality rice. Setting up a rice research centre is a right step towards achieving the objective.

The basmati rice grown in Pakistan’s Punjab province is long and slender-grained. It is aromatic, fluffy when cooked and, in classic Pakistani dishes, pairs well with lentil and gravies made from chickpea flour and spices. At market, it draws double the price, if not more, of non-basmati, long-grain rice varieties.

In recent years, however, basmati revenues have slumped in Pakistan amid low-yield harvests and uneven quality. At the Sino-Pakistan Hybrid Rice Research Center in Karachi, Chinese and Pakistani scientists are working to reverse this trend. Using state-of-the-art genetic technologies, they are developing high-yield, high-quality, and pest-resistant rice varieties, for both domestic sale and export.

The $1.3 million research facility is a harbinger of many changes soon to come to Pakistan’s agriculture sector under the ambitious development scheme known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC  For agriculture, CPEC promises technology transfers, infrastructure upgrades, and extensive cooperation between Chinese and Pakistani farming enterprises.

 A group of Chinese hybrid-rice researchers and experts along with local scientists has visited more than 100 rice farms across the country under the `Travelling Rice Seminar `initiative.
The travelling seminar was designed by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and Chinese Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Company and aims to boost hybrid rice cultivation in the country.

According to Program Coordinator and Member Plant Science PARC Dr Anjum Ali, the experts also visited research stations, agricultural universities and seed outlets of different companies to exploit the cultivation of hybrid rice. The Chinese experts travelled to Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan in order to create awareness about the cultivation of hybrid rice among growers. ‘This was a month-long activity in which a group of hybrid rice researchers from China comprising 12 scientists trained the local scientists, seed producers and field extension departments of the provincial governments,` he added.

He said the main aim of this joint initiative is to enhance per acre crop productivity, increase profitability and produce surplus commodity for exports enhancement. ‘In order to further enhance the local rice output, China and Pakistan have decided to work together for conducting joint awareness programs to adopt hybrid rice seeds,` he added.

The Chinese scientists trained 30 Pakistani agriculture scientists who were selected from across the country. Dr Ali said the Chinese experts will also impart training to the members of the provincial field extension departments on hybrid rice cultivation. In addition, the activity will also help in capacity building of local experts from all over the country in order to promote hybrid rice techniques.

Road-shows and field visits were organized across rice-growing areas to address issues and challenges faced in promotion of hybrid rice seed, he added. He further said a revolutionary hybrid rice seed has been developed recently by the Chinese researchers, which would help Pakistani farmers to enhance significantly their per acre yield, hence the country would be able to export more rice, he added

Challenges Faced by Pakistan Agriculture:

Firstly, the fertility of soil is decreasing day by day. The thickness of fertile layer of soil in Pakistan is more than 6 inches but the average yield is lower than other countries where layer of fertile soil is only 4 inches; water wastage is very high in our country. The archaic method of flood irrigation is still in practice in whole of the country which wastes almost 50 to 60 percent of water; owing to old methods of cultivation and harvesting, Pakistan has low yield per acre that means the average crop in Pakistan is just 1/4th of that of advance states.  Nepal, India and Bangladesh, are using modern scientific methods to increase their yield per acre. For this purpose, these states are using modern machines to improve their yield; small farmers are increasing in our country as the lands are dividing generation by generation. So, there are large numbers of farmers who own only 4 acres of land. These small farmers do not get credit facilities to purchase seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc; water logging and salinity is increasing day by day. As the storage capacity of the dams is decreasing so the water availability per acre is also decreasing. Therefore, the farmers are installing more and more tube wells to irrigate their crops. This is why salinity is becoming the major issue in most parts of Punjab and Sindh; focusing more on land, crops and yield problems the man behind the plough is always ignored. While formulating the 5 or 10 years plan, no emphasize has been laid on the importance of solving the problems of farmers. Most of the farmers are illiterate, poor and ignorant.

Infrastructural problems:

 Inadequate rail and road networks are one area of concern.. Pakistan is also facing grain storage problems at large scale throughout the country. The people often store their grains in godowns, which cause time to time damage to the seed. Thus, hundreds of thousands of tones of crops have to be stored in temporary facilities that afforded inadequate protection and pilferage. The hazards may occur because of improper ventilation, lack of control over temperature and humidity, high moisture content in seeds, lack of control over rain due to broken walls, floors and ceilings, spoil and un-cleaned godowns, lack of spray and fumigation etc. That results in increase number of dormant seeds, sprouting and rotting, increase of insect damage and bird contamination.

Cold storages:

All fruits and vegetables require specialized post-harvest treatment, appropriate temperature and relative humidity for their storage. Establishment of cold storage provides refrigerated storage and preservation facilities for different fruits, vegetables as well as flowers. Special licenses are required for food items like milk, meat etc & can be studied in the. Because of technology advancements and logistic strategies, the cold storage of perishable items has become an important stage in the distribution between manufacturers / processors and retail locations. The cold storage will ensure the increased availability and improved quality of high value perishable fruits and vegetables for both export and local sale, which would otherwise perish or deteriorate.

Value added Sector:

Livestock revolution enabled Pakistan to significantly raise agriculture productivity and rural incomes in 1980s. Economic activity in dairy, meat and poultry sectors now accounts for just over 50% of the nation's total agricultural output. The result is that per capita value added to agriculture in Pakistan is almost twice as much as that in Bangladesh and India. Although Pakistan's value added to agriculture is high for its region, it has been essentially flat since mid-1990s. It also lags significantly behind developing countries in other parts of the world. For example, per capita worker productivity in North Africa and the Middle East is more than twice that of Pakistan while in Latin America it is more than three times.

Conclusions

 Agricultural development is one of the seven areas of cooperation under CPEC, wherein China is specifically interested to explore areas like cotton productivity, efficient irrigation and post-harvest infrastructure along the CPEC route, a gateway for enhancing agriculture exports to China. Where infrastructure can undoubtedly serve in allaying the bottlenecks in the agriculture sector, this progression requires economic and political reforms by the government and private sector. The government should consider removing tariff and non-tariff barriers for agricultural trade with China, renegotiating the Pak-China Free Trade Agreement for better returns on its agricultural exports. The private sector and agriculture entrepreneurs should explore viable market opportunities and partnerships in the Chinese market and with international firms. Most importantly, a modern agricultural policy needs to be formulated to work in tandem with CPEC and support the rights of the local farmers.

  The private sector and agri-entrepreneurs should become the trailblazer and start exploring viable market opportunities in the Chinese market and forge partnerships with international firms to get a foothold. The government and private sector should jointly invest in research and development and post-harvest technology to improve product variety and quality. Last, but not the least, value chain expansion should be prioritized. Fruit processing, for instance, can fetch greater value with far simpler SPS requirements and more stable demand.

Update

During Prime Minister Imran Khan`s visit to China, Islamabad and Beijing inked a few initial agreements on agriculture; on the basis of which detailed frameworks of cooperation in the field of crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry will be developed and implemented. Officials say that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed during Mr Khan`s visit provides the basis for attracting Chinese investment and Chinese technical assistance in all sub-sectors of agriculture.

`From strengthening the seed sector, increasing crop yield, modernising livestock and fisheries and enlarging our forest cover, there is a long list of areas in which Chinese funds and technical cooperation will be coming in,` says a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

`Whereas it`s true that we`ll develop detailed frameworks for implementation of the PakistanChina cooperation agreement, it`s wrong to assume that none exists right now. A number of such frameworks are already in place since 2015 when the CPEC master agreement was signed and implementation on them continues,` he said.

Officials, however, are tight lipped about the critical issue of land acquisition in Pakistan by Chinese state-run or private firms for furthering cooperation in agriculture. That was an important feature of the CPEC long term plan.


Chinese companies have already been engaged in development of hybrid paddy and wheat seeds in Pakistan. Sinochem Group Agriculture Division, for example, has been running pilot projects at 200 sites in Pakistan including experimental bases and local farms.

A hybrid rice variety developed and cultivated by a Pakistan rice research and exporting company in collaboration with Yuan Long ping High-Tech Agriculture Co, has already been exported to the Philippines. In the seed manufacturing industry, Syngenta Pakistan is aggressively increasing its market share after China took over the Switzerland-based Syngenta in the middle of 2017, industry officials say. it would be naïve to expect that Chinese investment will start pouring into our agriculture sector automatically,` says a Sindh government official working on the province`s long-term agriculture policy.

`Chinese companies that are already here are all working in active partnership with local companies or federal or provincial institutions. They will continue to take this relationship one-notch further every time they decide to increase their level of cooperation. This effectively means we must prepare ourselves to work with them,` he opined.

Sindh is about to unveil its agriculture policy for 2018-2030 and officials working on it say that similar to Punjab, where Chinese and other foreign companies have been actively engaged in agricultural development, Sindh also wants to seek greater international cooperation. 

About three years ago, the Pakistani and Chinese governments had identified a couple of areas for cooperation in agriculture and China had promised to build agriculture demonstration centres across Pakistan and supply seeds and machinery to Pakistani farmers.

Authorities have so far not shared with the public how many of such demonstration centres have been built and the arrangement under which the Chinese are supplying seeds and agriculture machinery.

According to an MOU signed in this regard in October 2015, Pakistan was to use Chinese capital, technology and experience to improve irrigation, reduce post-harvest losses and enhance water use efficiency.

Officials with background knowledge of agricultural programmes under CPEC say work is progressing on the above-mentioned and several other areas of agriculture development and poverty alleviation. Currently it is difficult to say how much of the Chinese funding we can expect in state grants and loans, and how much through foreign direct investment of Chinese companies,` a federal government official explained.

Some projects like those of farm-to-market road networks that are connected with storage, packaging and processing units, fall under infrastructure development in CPEC wherein long-term state funding can rightly be expected.But both state-run Chinese institutions and companies will be involved in other projects like construction of modern slaughter houses or pulses, tea and oil seeds crop cultivation or deepening of agricultural research programmes