Opposition to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 'Not Directed Against Beijing'

Khan's statement came after Pakistan's opposition activists expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Pakistan's Punjab Province gets the greatest benefit from this project, while the interests of the other provinces are sacrificed.

Khan, for his part, heaped praise on the CPEC project, which he said would change the destiny of Pakistan's future generations.

"Friendship between China and Pakistan has passed the test of time. As for the CPEC, it provides a unique opportunity for the development of the underdeveloped areas of Pakistan," according to Khan.

At the same time, he pointed to the fact that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northernmost province of Pakistan, failed to get a proper share of the benefits from the CPEC project.

China plans to invest more than 50 billion dollars in this project, which aims to facilitate trade along an overland route from Kashgar in China to the port of Gwadar in Pakistan, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines. The CPEC is in fact an extension of China's One Belt, One Road project.

In an interview with Sputnik China, Sergey Kamenev, an expert from the Institute of Oriental Studies with the Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed to Khan's unfriendly ties with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party. Kamenev also warned against politicizing the CPEC project.

"Khan has repeatedly criticized Sharif, trying to link politics with the economy and citing the opposition's political standoff with authorities. However, the criticism cannot be justified and these economic rather than political contradictions can be resolved," Kamenev said.

He added that Khan's party is trying to use economic contradictions as a pretext for accusing the Pakistani government of discriminating against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

"In fact, there is no discrimination. Opposition will be opposition. Politics does not play a major role in laying the CPEC, with Prime Minister Shari trying to find a compromise. He chairs an economic council which supervises the project and which includes opposition leaders. The route of the corridor is not Sharif's personal decision," Kamenev added.

He also drew attention to the fact that Khan's differences with Islamabad over the CPEC project are not directed against Beijing. 

"Of course, these discrepancies are not directed against China, which contributes greatly to the project's development. China is going to invest a whopping 55 billion dollars in the Pakistani economy. Everyone, including Pakistan's opposition parties, is interested in Chinese investments," Kamenev said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Office has conveyed its concerns to China and Pakistan over the CPEC's proposed path through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which "violates India's sovereignty."

"Our concerns are well known. It is a Chinese initiative. The CPEC passes through sovereign Indian Territory. So our concerns in this regard have been conveyed to both China and Pakistan," Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokeswoman Vikas Swarup said.

Further, China would also get easy access to the Arabian Sea. These moves, India feels, would undermine India's influence in the region.

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