Game Plan: Pakistan Economic Gateway
By Shahryar Khan Niazi
Markings
ISBN: 978-9699748271
200pp.

The areas that constitute Pakistan have served as a gateway for many invaders of the Subcontinent, dating back to at least Alexander the Great’s entry into the region through the Khyber Pass. The trend continued with the Ghaznavids, the Ghurids and the Mughals.

At the same time, these areas have exported agricultural products to neighbouring regions and beyond for millennia. There is evidence that items produced during the Indus Valley Civilisation were sent to Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Indus seals and artefacts such as beads and pottery have been discovered in Mesopotamia, while Mesopotamian goods, such as silver and woollen textiles, have been found at Indus sites.

From its inception, Pakistan has sought to create economic gateways with its neighbouring countries. In 1962, China decided to enhance cooperation with Pakistan by constructing the Karakoram Highway. Engineers from the Pakistan Army and their counterparts in China’s People’s Liberation Army completed the highway in 1979, and it was opened to the public in 1986. In 1964, Pakistan, working with Iran and Turkey, established the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) as a platform for economic, technical and cultural collaboration.

In 2015, China deepened its cooperation with Pakistan by launching the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Gwadar Port provides Chinese products with a gateway to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf, vastly shortening the distance to markets in the region.

Game Plan: Pakistan Economic Gateway argues that........

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