Editing Transport in Pakistan (section)

== China-Pakistan Economic Corridor ==
The [[China-Pakistan Economic Corridor]] is an under-construction development program to connect [[Gwadar Port]] in southern Pakistan to China's northwestern autonomous region of [[Xinjiang]] via [[highways]], [[railway]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241501&Itemid=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019181703/http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241501&Itemid=2|url-status=dead|title=Pak-China Economic Corridor to get high-speed railway track|archive-date=19 October 2014}}</ref> and pipelines to transport oil and gas. [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Premier]] [[Li Keqiang]] was among the first advocates of the project; since then [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Xi Jinping]], former [[Pakistani President]] [[Asif Ali Zardari]] and [[Pakistani prime minister]] [[Nawaz Sharif]] have become strong supporters of the project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/02/china-pakistan-flesh-out-new-economic-corridor/|title=China, Pakistan Flesh Out New 'Economic Corridor'|first=Shannon|last=Tiezzi|website=thediplomat.com}}</ref> When the corridor is constructed, it will serve as a primary gateway for trade between China and the Middle East and Africa; in particular, oil from the [[Middle East]] could be offloaded at Gwadar, which is located just outside the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and transported to China through the [[Baluchistan]] province in Pakistan. Such a link would vastly shorten the 12,000-kilometre route that Mideast oil supplies must now take to reach Chinese ports.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/589268/pak-china-ties-gawadar-port-one-part-of-a-larger-plan|title=Pak-China ties: Gawadar port one part of a larger plan|date=12 August 2013|website=The Express Tribune}}</ref>

The project received a major boost when control of [[Gwadar]] was transferred to China's state-owned China Overseas Ports Holding in February 2013. Built by Chinese workers and opened in 2007, Gwadar is undergoing a major expansion to turn it into a full-fledged, deep-water commercial port. On 19 February 2014, the ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' reported that Pakistan and China have signed agreements for constructing an international airport at Gwadar, for upgrading a section of the 1,300-kilometre Karakorum Highway connecting to Islamabad, and for a fibre-optic cable to be laid from the Chinese border to the Pakistani city of [[Rawalpindi]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1431218/china-and-pakistan-pave-way-economic-corridor| title = China and Pakistan pave way for 'economic corridor'| date = 19 February 2014}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/02/21/china-pakistan-to-accelerate-economic-corridor-construction-2/|title=China, Pakistan to accelerate 'economic corridor' construction &#124; Pakistan Today|website=www.pakistantoday.com.pk}}</ref> According to ''[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]'', with the development of the corridor, [[Central Asia]], traditionally an economically closed region owing to its geography and lack of infrastructure, will have greater access to the sea and to the global trade network.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/02/the-pakistan-china-corridor/|title=The Pakistan-China Corridor|website=thediplomat.com}}</ref> Pak-China Economic Corridor Secretariat was inaugurated in [[Islamabad]] on August 27, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/368953-government-to-upgrade-ptv-channels-to-hd-fawad-chaudhry|title=Government to upgrade PTV channels to HD: Fawad Chaudhry|website=www.thenews.com.pk}}</ref> The CPEC has put a debt burden on Pakistan, paving the way for China to use its "debt-trap diplomacy" and gain access to strategic assets. Therefore, Pakistan is already at high risk due to debt from China. Perhaps, Pakistan would never have imagined that its alliance with China would sink into huge debt.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-05-30 |title=Pakistan economic crisis intensifies as China refuses to provide debt relief |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-economic-crisis-intensifies-as-china-refuses-to-provide-debt-relief/articleshow/83094150.cms |access-date=2023-07-20 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> China and Pakistan have both undertaken constructive measures to facilitate the advancement of the CPEC project. However, the ultimate outcome of the corridor's success is intricately tied to Pakistan's internal circumstances. A comprehensive evaluation of the corridor's potential remains challenging until Pakistan addresses its political and security challenges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan's Economic Crisis: What Went Wrong? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/05/pakistans-economic-crisis-what-went-wrong/ |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2019-07-02 |title=CPEC — poverty alleviation |url=https://pakobserver.net/cpec-poverty-alleviation/ |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=Pakistan Observer |language=en-US}}</ref>