ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Pakistan would leave no stone unturned to counter a malicious disinformation campaign against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“CPEC has over the years been a victim of a malicious disinformation campaign by the detractors of CPEC and China […] exploitation of extremist and ethnic elements to sabotage the construction of CPEC cannot be overruled,” he said while addressing the CPEC Media Forum.
The media has a responsibility to report fairly and factually on CPEC, said Ashraf, adding there is a need for large-scale outreach efforts towards mitigating the apprehensions of local communities for those vicious propaganda campaigns.
Ashraf said that a multi-dimensional outreach strategy comprising all stakeholders both from Pakistan and China is the need of the hour.
“Think tanks, media and educational exchanges will also prove instrumental in this effort … We all need to come together to ensure the success of this valuable corridor,” he said.
The speaker believed that through CPEC, China has given a vote of confidence in Pakistan’s potential to build a better future, saying the country’s pursuit of being a geo-economic hub in the region is linked with the success of CPEC.
“I have witnessed the high-quality execution of the CPEC projects across the country. It is heartening that the scope of CPEC has expanded to include other priority areas including socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, and industrial and agricultural cooperation through special economic zones,” he said.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic when almost every economic project in the world hit the snag, Ashraf said the professionalism and consistency through which the Chinese enterprises continued to work on CPEC have been lauded by the international community.
On the occasion, Pang Chunxue, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, said that China and Pakistan need to encourage the strengthening of narrative building and join hands in combating fake news regarding CPEC.
The media of China and Pakistan will have to play a more active role as a bridge, telling true stories of China-Pakistan cooperation, and consolidating “the all-weather friendship between the iron brothers”, she added.
