Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif has said that the army can pay any price to ensure the success of the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), local media reported Sunday.
General Raheel Sharif made the pledge while inspecting a part of under construction road network of the corridor in the country' s southwestern province of Balochistan on Saturday.
The army chief said they are acutely aware of their rivals' campaign against the CPEC and vowed that the armed forces are ready to pay any price to turn this long cherished dream into reality. "CPEC and Gwadar Port will be built and developed as one of the most strategic deep sea port in the region at all costs," said General Sharif.
Emphasizing the importance of the CPEC, the army chief said that construction of these roads will link Gwadar Port with the rest of the country to yield the real envisioned dividend of the port and corridor project to transform the lives of people and bring prosperity to the region.
During the visit, the army chief was informed that 502 km out of 870 km of the road project has been completed in less than one and half year by the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), an active- duty non-combatant military administrative staff corps responsible for construction works.
General Sharif appreciated the FWO for their untiring efforts in construction of such a vast road network against all odds at such a pace and paid rich tributes to the soldiers for sacrificing their lives for undertaking the project.
The army chief also paid rich tributes to the proud and valiant local people of the province and thanked them for their unconditional cooperation and support for these projects. He assuring them that they will be best served by these projects.
Noting the need of a secure and peaceful environment to push all the planned development work, the army chief lauded the law enforcement agencies for their recently conducted successful operations against some foreign funded terrorists to bring a noticeable change in the overall security situation in the province.
Talking about the operation Zarb-e-Azb, General Sharif said it is not only an operation but a concept for a terror-free Pakistan and it will continue to target all militants without any discrimination across the country.
