Another setback for China as Pakistan rejects Beijing’s $14 billion aid for dam in PoK

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, Nov 17: Pakistan has rejected China’s aid of $14 billion for Diamer-Bhasha Dam to be build in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir citing undoable Chinese conditions against Pakistan’s interest.

“Chinese conditions for financing the Diamer-Bhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests,” PTI quoted Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority Chairman Muzammil Hussain as saying in its report.

According to the report, China’s strict conditions include ownership of the project, operation and maintenance cost and securitization of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam.

“These conditions were unacceptable, therefore, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approved a report to finance the dam from the country’s own resources,” Muzammil Hussain said in the report.

Pakistan, China’s all weather friend took a step further and has withdrawn its bid to include the project in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) just days before the 7th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting with China which is scheduled for Nov 21 in Islamabad.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a trade network of highways, railways, pipelines and optical cables currently under construction throughout Pakistan.

The development comes just days after Nepal has cancelled a deal with a Chinese state-owned company to build its biggest hydropower project worth USD 2.5 billion on the directive of several parliamentary committees following a cabinet meeting on Nov 13, 2017.