IN FOCUS
The extent of Pakistani military’s control over the
economy is not limited to domestic sphere alone. It has
become an important stakeholder in decisions related to the
international trade and investment of Pakistan as well. In a
series of interviews for our respective PhD research projects
that were conducted with the stakeholders in Pakistan’s
economy it was revealed that military actors in Pakistan have
always cautioned against liberalizing trade with India with
the fear that a pro-India lobby might emerge within Pakistan.
The business community also recalled how behind closed
doors political actors help them count the benefi ts of opening
trade with neighboring economies such as India but in public,
they play to the gallery and demands for liberal trade ties
are never met. The very act of Pakistani military throwing
its weight behind the CPEC is again a result of its security
calculations where CPEC is being seen as a game changer
one that can help Pakistan overcome its economic crisis and
develop economically with help from all-weather ally China.
As a result, Pakistani Army acted swiftly in covering up the
graft allegations in CPEC after Panama leaks in order to
make sure that it does not become a casualty of the exposé.
A reiteration of this is the fact that the investments under
CPEC were initially sought by the civilian leadership under
Ex-PM Nawaz Sharif. However, military is quickly taking
over the projects with even China showing more acceptance
for the same.
The military establishment is Pakistan is not only
showing a preference for CPEC for sustenance and survival
but it has also become a tool for the military to increase its
existing stronghold over the economy. Ayesha Siddiqa in
her book, “Military Inc” notes that the governments have
encouraged the commercial interests of the military over the
private enterprise. Subsidies and awarding of contracts are
two ways in which government strengthens monopolistic
tendencies of the military commercial establishment at the
cost of the private sector players , she notes. CPEC has come
as a step in a similar direction. The strategy employed by the
military to overtake CPEC control from civilian leadership
is same as the one which it has been using to gain control
over domestic and foreign policymaking. It fi rst raises a
rhetoric of security to seek a formal role in the execution of
the projects and then bypasses the civilian government and
makes sure that the decision-making power comes to rest
with the military-bureaucratic complex. Military so far has
been very eff ective in increasing its stake in the economy
through the CPEC.
At the institutional level military’s commercial interests
have been organized into three key economic entities- Frontier
Works Organization (FWO), Special Communications
Organization (SCO) and National Logistics Cell (NLC). All
three of them are a part of the projects under CPEC.
Sometimes the need to rope in these entities owned by the
military arises mainly due to concerns around security. For
instance, the contract to build the Gwadar-Ratodero motorway
was initially awarded to a Chinese construction fi rm but due to
death of their engineers in a car blast, it was fi nally awarded
to FWO which despite high number of casualties in militant
attacks was able to complete the project in 2017. But the
awarding of contracts through the so-called ‘open bidding’
process is also not free from allegations of favouritism.
Recently funding to three major CPEC road projects was
stopped by China over issue of corruption and a set of new
guidelines were to be drafted. However, it is believed that
it was just a ploy to benefi t the military’s engineering and
construction arm, FWO.
Similarly, NLC which is the most reputed fl eet operator in
the country has become the nodal agency for execution of the
National Trucking Policy, as a part of which it is undertaking
an NLC Drivers and Emergency Rest Areas (DERA) project
to set up parking and resting facilities at major locations just
off the national highways.
CPEC is reinforcing the very cocktail of suppression of
human rights and consolidation of military’s control over the
country’s societal fabric that has so far dominated the history
of Pakistan. Case in point is the Thar Coal fi eld project. It
was heralded as a solution to Pakistan’s grave energy problem
when coal was discovered in the Thar desert in 1991. The
quality of the coal deposit already ranks low thus the damage
to the environment would be considerable in generating power
using this new-found resource. At the same time, the project
led to protests from the indigenous Thari community over
damage to local ecology. The project is a part of CPEC but is
being executed by a joint venture between Sindh Government
and Engro Corporation. The security of the project has been
ensured by the Special Security Division- a 15000 strong
additional troops raised for the purpose of securing CPEC
projects. In fact, Maj. Gen. Ahsan Gulrez, commanding
offi cer of the SSD has stated in clear terms that any attempt
to obstruct the progress of CPEC projects will be crushed
during a visit to the coalmines.
CPEC might be heralded as a game-changer by the civilian
and military leadership in Pakistan alike. However even
a cursory analysis reveals that it based on the very power
dynamics that have dominated Pakistan’s political economy
till now. The fact that China has a preference for authoritarian
setup is a very worrying trend, one that will have ramifi cations
for the entire region of South Asia.
* Divya Anand, PhD Research Scholar, SIS, JNU
** Monica Verma, PhD Research Scholar, DIR, SAU
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 10 • Oct-Nov 2018, Noida • 45