: The China-funded economic corridor could have sparked a cultural shift in Pakistan. Why didn’t it? #IndiaNEWS Apart from its strategic and regional connectivity outlook, the China-Pakistan Economic

The China-funded economic corridor could have sparked a cultural shift in Pakistan. Why didn’t it? #IndiaNEWS
Apart from its strategic and regional connectivity outlook, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor had also offered hope for Pakistan’s economic revival and industrial transformation. But that hope has gradually been waning. Not only have the power elites not been able to assess and strategise the real potential of the initiative, the implementing apparatus too was seen as disjointed and unprepared. CPEC could also do wonders for the sociopolitical and cultural transformation of the country, which is plagued by a variety of extremist and conservative tendencies. These tendencies are not only damaging the social fabric, they have also led to a mindset that is retrogressive and uncreative.Lost OpportunitiesCPEC was, and still remains, an opportunity to introduce a multicultural character. At the outset, CPEC had encouraged medium- to large-scale Chinese investors to invest in Pakistan. But the nexus of the bureaucracy and conservative industrial class held the Chinese off. At the other end, society, too, was not ready to interact with such a large number of foreigners entering the local market. Security and political factors further complicated the situation.The megaprojects of CPEC, which entail sovereign guarantees, are still ongoing, but the establishment of the economic zones and cooperation in the industrial and agricultural sectors have slowed to a...Read more

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