CHINA is trying to take advantage of Pakistan which has managed to isolate itself from the international community due to allegations of terror financing, said a Neatherland-based think tank.
Beijing is knowingly patronising Islamabad to turn it into a colony dependent on China for day-to-day survival, according to Amsterdam-based European Foundation for South Asian Studies.
"China has exclusively taken advantage of the fact that Pakistan has managed to isolate itself from the world due to wide allegations of sponsoring terrorism and Beijing might currently act as the Godfather assuring Islamabad that it will serve its interests, yet is fully aware that this patronising attitude will only turn Pakistan into a colony which will always require China for its day-to-day survival," the organisation said in a report released yesterday.
In a damning report, the think tank heavily criticised the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPECNSE 0.00 %) project, terming it as an " "unfair deal" for Pakistan.
"The 15-year megaproject illuminates how Pakistan voluntarily is becoming progressively subjugated by China and its terms and conditions. Following Beijing’s history of trade relations with African countries, it is evident that China will be very careful about its investments and thereafter quite rigid in receiving its money back," it said in the report.
"Islamabad might have signed the CPEC agreement believing it would be advantageous to its country but it actually subscribed to an unfair deal for which common Pakistanis will eventually suffer," the report further added.
"The Chinese master plan conceives a picture where the majority of Pakistani socio-economic sectors are deeply penetrated by Chinese companies and Chinese culture; thus, Islamabad puts itself at risk of facing its finances and societal structure experiencing a colossal wreck."
It further said that the combination of high upfront tariffs, interest rates and surcharges will complicate Pakistan’s efforts to repay its loans, forcing the State to increase its domestic and export prices, making it difficult to compete with neighbouring and other countries which maintain lower prices.
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