The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Nawab Sanaullah Khan, had a meeting with a team from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In the meeting, he said that, since the initiative of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the investment opportunities in Gwadar and Balochistan have increased to a great extent. He assured that the government would assist the efforts involved in the exploitation of such potential investment opportunities.[1]
Pakistan’s former permanent representative (write down the name if it was available) at the United Nations in Geneva and envoy at the Conference on Disarmament claimed that China would not allow India to enter into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). He said that, regardless of the support of the United States (US), India would not be able to join the NSG as china aims to endorse the membership of Pakistan and India at the same time.[2]
Pervez Khattak, the Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), wrote a letter to the federal government seeking clarification over uncertainties of the western alignment of the CEPC. He has also sought reservations over the inclusion of some projects as part of the western corridor. However, the federal government has not made any clear commitment in this regard.[3]
The Senate Standing Committee on Defence was informed that India’s premier spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), had set up a ‘special cell’ in New Delhi to disrupt the CPEC project.[4]
In order to increase cooperation among the private sector of the Punjab province of Pakistan and Shandong Province of China, two agreements and six MOUs were signed. The agreement was signed by the Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, and Shandong vice Governor, Xia Geng.[5]
[1] http://tribune.com.pk/story/1084288/safe-environment-cpec-opens-investment-vistas-says-cm-zehri/
[2] http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/pak-says-china-will-stop-india-s-entry-into-nsg-116041400264_1.html
[3] http://tribune.com.pk/story/1084090/looking-for-answers-cm-writes-another-letter-to-govt-seeking-clarity-on-cpec/
[4] http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/raw-runs-special-cell-to-sabotage-cpec-pakistan-official-116041400139_1.html
[5] http://nation.com.pk/lahore/15-Apr-2016/sino-pak-interprovincial-pact