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Pakistan Senate's motion 'misreported'; 'recommends' Chinese language courses for human resource

WION Web Team
Islamabad, PakistanUpdated: Feb 20, 2018, 09:25 AM IST
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Representative Image. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

According to fresh reports, Pakistan Senate's motion to declare Chinese as an official language was misreported.

The official motion "recommends" Chinese language courses for Pakistan's CPEC human resource in the wake of "growing collaboration" between the two countries. 

"This House recommends that in view of the growing collaboration between Pakistan and China under the CPEC, courses of the Official Chinese Language should be launched for all current and prospective Pakistani CPEC human resource in order to overcome any costly communication barriers," reads the official motion. 

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China has invested heavily in the CPEC project linking Pakistan's Gwadar port with China's western Xinjiang region. 

Last year, China and Pakistan had laid the framework for the One Belt, One Road(OBOR) initiative also known as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and had signed several agreements worth over $50 billion which included developing the Gwadar port and airport in Balochistan province, upgrading the main railway track between Karachi and Peshawar in order to further trade.

The two countries have also signed an MoU for the establishment of a dry port in Havelian.

Last year, China had hosted a high-profile event in Beijing called the  Belt and Road Forum (BRF) which was attended by 29 heads of state and governments including ousted Pakistan Prime Minister  Nawaz Sharif, Lankan PM Ranil Wickremasinghe, besides official delegations from other South Asian countries.

India skipped the event with no Indian delegation sent for the opening ceremony addressed by Chinese President, Xi Jinping. India feels the OBOR project infringes upon its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In late last year, Pakistan's minister for planning and development Ahsan Iqbal had said government was examining a proposal to replace the US dollar with the Chinese yuan for trade between China and Pakistan after reports emerged that China had "temporarily" stopped funding of some projects in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over "corruption" issues.