Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to China was a great success. He was warmly received by the Chinese leaders and a number of important agreements were signed, the most important of which being Chinese assistance for power generation and a motorway (and probably a rail link) between the port of Gwadar and Kashghar in the Xinjiang province.
Some informative articles have been written on this topic, including one by Asif Ezdi in this newspaper. Since I am familiar with that part of the world, I am also putting in my two cents worth.
As far as the road across the border from Khunjerab is concerned, the Chinese already have excellent roads throughout their country. The problems lie on our side. Since the PM is fond of constructing motorways and has given us the best roads in Punjab and Khyver Pakhtunkhwa, his keen interest in the Gwadar-Kashghar Motorway (GKM) is understandable.
My concern is only the small portion between Burhan and Abbottabad. This section can be considered a bottleneck and the issue should be sorted out on a priority basis. I recently attended a function at Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad with my good friend, Prof Dr Khaleequz Zaman of PIMS. We were warmly received by Prof Dr Azirur Rahman, a class fellow and friend of Prof Khaleeq’s. The enthusiasm displayed by the students was overwhelming. It was Dr Khaleeq who drew my attention to the problems discussed below.
It is the rather torturous trip to get to Abbottabad that has made me want to draw attention towards it. From Islamabad to Abbottabad, Mansehra, Balakot, Kaghan, Naran, Kohistan, Baltistan, Gilgit and on to the Chinese border there is only a single road. It is also the only connection for traffic coming from Peshawar to Burhan and then on towards China. The main road passes through densely populated cities. Not only is there two-way traffic, but also the inevitable array of pedestrians, donkey and bullock carts and, worst of all, heavily-loaded trucks. All of this results in mayhem and frequent fatal accidents.
The 110 km long journey from Islamabad to Abbottabad and vice versa can take as long as four to five hours rather than the one-and-a-half hours that the distance warrants. This results in wastage of time and fuel. If tackled first, it would prove a great facility for now and can then easily be made part of the new motorway.
Here are some points for consideration. In order to travel from Islamabad to Hazara, one first goes south to Hasan Abdal, then via Wah and then onwards – an unnecessarily lengthy route, again costing extra time and fuel. A solution would be a tunnel through the Margalla Hills with the road running from an extension of 7th Avenue, and via the Zoo to Jari Kas and Haripur, which could then also later be connected to the motorway. This would not only save time and fuel, but would also enable residents from the surrounding areas to have direct access, thus taking some pressure off the roads in Islamabad.
If one wants to travel from Peshawar to Hazara, one has to go via Punjab. The movement of goods and anyone travelling for work, attending courts and other provincial offices, face great inconvenience having to traverse another province. There is a dire need for a direct link to avoid irritants and to save time and money. Another major problem is that Hazara has fewer representatives in the provincial assembly and is thus, more often than not, deprived of development funds.
This has resulted in less development in the area, which has created dissatisfaction and hatred similar to that felt in East Pakistan before cessation. There is, thus, an urgent need to connect the two parts or to create a new Hazara province. This could help create harmony and better understanding. The Hazara district has beautiful scenery and could easily be developed for tourism. It also produces delicious fruits and the people are very hard working. Abbottabad has some of the country’s best institutions and the literacy rate in Hazara is reported to be much higher than the average in others parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As a separate entity, this province could develop at a faster rate.
During his visit to China, Mian Nawaz Sharif paid much attention to development projects. He called the Gwadar-Kashghar corridor a trendsetter and an economic lifeline. There is also talk of a railway link. The Chinese have vast experience in building excellent motorways and railways through difficult terrain. The Angola-Katanga-Zambia (Benguela Railways, 1,344 km long) of the 70s is well remembered.
The recent Chengdu (Sichuan)-Lhasa (Tibet) Railway is a marvel in its own right, traversing high mountains (13,000 to 14,000 feet) and making sharp turns. Tibet used to be totally isolated. There was an air link and a narrow road with many difficult passes. Now all consumer goods, petrol, diesel, construction materials, passengers, etc can move freely and there will be a greater integration with the mainland. That is what foresight and planning is all about. We should learn from them!
If the main contracting, building and control of this motorway project is handed over to the Chinese, it will, in all probability, be completed on schedule. Handing it to Pakistani contractors would mean that we could probably forget about it altogether.
Looking carefully at a map one notices that the Hunza, Gilgit, Baltistan, Chalas, Kohistan and Hazara areas are an economic jugular vein for the development of Pakistan. This motorway is a dire need of the times. It will help change the face of that area of Pakistan. It will also necessitate an airport at Mansehra for passenger movements and a dry dock for the easy transportation of goods and materials.
The Diamer Bhasha Dam is a very important project and facilities will be required for the transportation of heavy machinery and equipment to the site. A good road is a must for now and for the future.
Let us not forget that there are precious minerals in the area that have not been properly exploited so far. The area also has great potential for developing the tourism industry. If and when this motorway is ready, large numbers of tourists will be travelling via Pakistan to China by road, enjoying the beautiful scenery and benefitting the local population.
I earnestly request the prime minister to seriously consider starting work on the traffic bottleneck mentioned above at the earliest in order to pave the way for the motorway.