Written by

Attiya Munawer

The Lord of the Universe has exalted the remembrance of His Beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so much that as long as the muezzin continues to raise the voices of the exaltation of Allah in the azan, he will continue to raise the Mustafai of Muhammad (SAWW).Therefore, by selling the words of the infidel atheist and the enemy against Islam and the Khair-ul-An’am (SAW) or by insulting the honor of the Messenger of Allah, neither the virtue and greatness of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has diminished nor can it be till the Day of Judgment. Allah Almighty has revealed the Holy Quran and has taken the responsibility of protecting it till the Day of Resurrection. In the same way, the sanctity and survival of Islam and the chastity of the Prophet of Islam is also under His protection. For this reason, in order to protect and guard His tawheed (monotheism) and risalat (prophethood) in every age, Allah has been creating the guardians of tawhid (monotheism) in the MuslimUmmahthat dedicated to himself and the love of the Prophet (SAW) and will continue to do so till the Day of Resurrection.The famous religious scholar, AllamaMaulanaKhadimHussainRizvi, the founder of the religious and political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was also a true lover and a guardian of the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (SAW). He devoted his entire life to the service of religion. He conveyed the message of the Holy Quran in every city, street, town, and village and praised theTajdar e Ambiya (SAW), In addition, he continued to call the people to the religion and prepare them to stand on the end of the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and make sacrifices for this great cause. While protecting the Prophet’s sanctity, he himself has gone to his true Creator.

The sudden demise of AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi has made the lovers ofthe Prophet restless. A few days ago, he was thundering in the Faizabad sit-in and he was in the field for the Prophet’s sanctity, but with the setting of this bright star of courage, bravery and fearlessness, grief has fallen on the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him).The courage and bravery with which AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi kept challenging the falsehood, it is now difficult to find such a precedent in this age of famine. He gained immense popularity in a very short time mainly because he was a true lover of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Moreover, he was a memorizer of the Qur’an as well as Shaykh al-Hadith, AllamaIqbal’s Urdu and Persian words were also memorized by him. Iqbal’s poems were often quoted in his speeches in such a beautiful way that while the common man understood the poems, the audience also resounded with the slogans of “LabbaikYaRasool Allah (SAW)”. He spent his entire life preaching Islam and the sanctity of the Prophet, even though he was in a wheelchair during the previous government. A long sit-in was called in Faizabad on the news of controversial changes in the blasphemy laws. Similarly, in the last few days, after the publication of blasphemous sketches in France, they again staged a sit-in in Faizabad demanding the deportation of the French ambassador. But, the sit-in was ended by an agreement with the government. AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi’s love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) can also be gauged from the fact that even during the sit-in, he complained of high fever and difficulty in breathing, but persevered for the sake of honoring the Holy Prophet (PBUH). It was not wrong to call himself a watchman of Islam. He has proved himself to be a watchman by guarding the honor of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). AllamaKhadimHussain came to teach the lesson of IshqNabi (SAW) and has done his job.

It is very unfortunate that AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi, who guarded the sanctity of the Holy Prophet, has passed away, but the candle of Khatm e Nabuwat (the end of prophethood) and sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has been lit from the platform of Tehreek-e-Labeek which will continue to provide light to future generations. AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi has continued the journey of Islam all his life and for the purpose for which he has sacrificed his life, Insha Allah the Muslims of Pakistan will carry it forward. The protection of the law ofKhatm e Nabuwat(the end of prophethood) is the first duty of all of us. In a country built in the name of La ilahaillallahMuhammadurRasulullah, no one will be allowed to tamper with the law of the end of prophethood, nor will one hesitate to sacrifice one’s life for the sanctity of the Prophet. The demise of AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi is an irreparable loss for the propagation of Islam. It is the responsibility of the leadership of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to carry out this great cause in the absence of AllamaKhadimHussainRizvi in accordance with the true spirit. To teach the lesson of love of the Prophet, we also have to teach our children the lesson of Khtam e Nabuwat in order to keep alive the spirit of sacrificing everything for the sanctity of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). By keeping the spirit of Ishq-e-Rasul, not only our world and the hereafter will be enlightened, but also the soul of AllamaKhadimHussain will be overwhelmed and will be the source of his ascension.

By Hassan Daud

As preparations for 10th Joint Cooperation Committee ( JCC) meeting of the CPEC get into full swing, this year the meeting will be held in an environment where production and distribution systems across the globe have been impacted by the COVID -19 virus and therefore, cooperation within regional partners and global markets is imperative. In this changing scenario, the meeting will be held in an increased atmosphere of cordiality, friendship, mutual trust and desire to explore new avenues for cooperation.  But as we approach the meeting dates the negative campaign by naysayers will commence maintaining proclivity as has been the pattern in last seven years since China announced its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Pakistan commenced CPEC. The most popular and frequently repeated false narrative is around the ‘Debt trap” which I believe has outlived its life.

Under the 9 completed projects and 13 on-going projects, over 70,000 direct jobs have already been created under CPEC and another 450,000 direct jobs could be generated in next 4 to 5 years which mainly depends on commencement of the SEZ’s and Gwadar Free Trade Zone. Despite COVID -19, since last JCCsignificant progress has been made on projects under Gwadar with the port becoming operational for Afghan transit trade, first fishing vessel with 200 tones cargo arriving on 20th November, IA/PPA for 300 MW power plant in final stage of process,work on Gwadar airport and vocational center starting and that of connecting the port to the Coastal highwaythrough the East Bay expressway nearing its completionand more importantly, new investors registering in the free zone creating new opportunities for local employment.Since start of development work in Gwadar, its opponents have been critical on the progress as is now the case for ML-1 project where the foes know that it is another game changing project which will transform the way we do travel and trade.

During past two years, teams led by experts from both sides have workedmeticulously on the technical details of the project bringing results through out of box solutionsincluding for financing, incorporating new technology and discussion of extension beyond Peshawar. The most interesting benefit will be for the engineering universities providing necessary HR for the project. This is bound to bring about a major change on plans for regional connectivity linkages, improving tourism, transfer of knowledge and technology besides developing rural urban synergy in the country which is leading towards a true inclusive growth. The impact of such development initiatives will transform Pakistan into a better place for foreign investors.ML-1 project will be another manifestation of the time tested friendship between the two iron brothers like the one demonstrated during construction of KKH.

On the Industrial cooperation front the challenge will be to attract investment that brings export led industry with new technology and support import substitutionat a time wheneconomies are getting insulated as an immediate response to the pandemic and investors are becoming risk averse.Pakistan on its part is working on policies favorable to market transactions, such as being open to foreign direct investment, protecting property rights to encouraged entrepreneurship and promoting sustainable knowledge investment. With Rashakai, Dhabheji and Faisalabad SEZs all set for starting development work, efforts need to be to remove bottlenecks in the banking processes,provision of utilities and crafting regionally competitive incentive packages spurring growth and employment under the vision of the PM Imran Khan who strongly believes that “CPEC is great opportunity for Pakistan. CPEC connect Pakistan to China which is one of the biggest markets.”The industrial development is likely to take place in two stages asin the initial stage it is expected that the SEZs will be occupied by labour intensive industries followed by modern hi-tech industries that will demand workers possess a combination of high tech skills.

In the socio economic development frontboth sides are keen to accelerate the progressas the recent natural calamities including pandemic Covid-19 have made us to realize that in order to combat the challenges, partnerships needs to be strengthened to draw a new normal where harmony can be achieved through economic integration. In coming years there will be burn centers across major cities of Pakistan. Health care equipment including ambulances are also being provided through Chinese grant and some of the latest technology is coming in vocational training and HEC projects are also going in the same direction by providing virtual training to students. Under Agriculture JWG, establishment of Center of Excellence in the fields of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cotton Research and Establishment of FMD Free Zones are being contemplated. Action plans in agriculture and oil and gas are also being prepared. Similarly, under the newly established JWG for science and technology host of new initiatives are being discussed for embracing the 4th Industrial revolution (4IR).

As a developing country in transition, Pakistan faces numerous challenges and opportunities in the process of industrialization. In this process to becoming “Gateway of Prosperity”, CPEC will be confronted by number of opponentswho are aware that the initiative is not only linking Pakistan and China but is also creating new job opportunities, poverty reduction, and development and boost sustainable industrial growth. In response to this negative narrative all we have to do is to echo Mr Zhao li Jian Spokesman & DDG, Information Department, Foreign Ministry, China who recently stated that “any attempt to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project would not succeed”.

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About the writer: Mr. Hassan Daud Butt is a Projects’ Management specialist and is a faculty member of Projects Management Dept. at various institutes/universities. He has also served as diplomat in China and Vietnam and is a recipient of Commemorative medal from Chinese Ministry of Defense. He can be reached at [email protected]