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When the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was first proposed, every Pakistani jumped at the thought and imagined a beautiful, developed, coercive Pakistan, full of employment and ‘khush-haali’, as it is said in Urdu.
However, as Pink Floyd stated, ‘the child has grown, the dream is gone’ – if CPEC was to be subbed in one sentence, this would be it. With little or no employment as of yet in Pakistan through CPEC, it seems as if slowly but surely, the Chinese are actually taking over our country.
The other day, an incident occurred that shocked Pakistan, showcasing the real nature of Chinese workers who are part of the CPEC project. At a construction site near Khanewal, under a CPEC project, Chinese engineers showed their rogue nature to Pakistan when they attacked policemen and locals who were deployed for them and their security.
As per details, the Chinese, after a hard day’s work, wanted to go out in Khanewal to visit a ‘red-light’ district. Yes, we’re talking about an adultery station. But because of the security protocol and arrangements, the Chinese were not allowed to leave the premises of the construction site. At this, the ‘martial arts’ experts, the Chinese workers, who have been trained to handle any situation, went rogue and started threatening to the police officers and other locals.
First, they resorted to harassment of the police by punching their vehicle and abusing them. A man even stood atop one of the cruisers, as a viral picture suggests. Furthermore, when the confrontation increased, the Chinese engineers then started thrashing the policemen as it can be clearly seen in the video.
Ever since the incident, the people of Pakistan have changed their opinion on CPEC altogether. Many think that these are the first glimpses of colonization in Pakistan, while others suggest that it is a slap on the face of China-Pak friendship, as the Chinese only see us as a country that is providing them with work. A brilliant theory suggests that CPEC is a project where Pakistan has borrowed money from China, giving them employment and benefits, and the whole purpose of the project is to cut-short China’s distance to the rest of the world.
This incident, although, might be a one-off, but it has certainly hurt the image of China-Pak friendship and CPEC as well. The policemen deployed were there only to provide security to these men, who thought they were above the law too.
