Tazeen Akhtar
(The writer is expert on China Pakistan and CPEC. He is writing on CPEC since 2008 from the earliest information about the expansion of KKH to formal announcement of CPEC. He has been covering different phases of the project from inception to political opposition of the project and later emergence of a national consensus in Pakistan. He is editor of newspapers in Islamabad for last 20 years.He has covered international conferences and events on connectivity, media management and other including reforms and elections in USA, Germany, Denmark, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. He is running web news and magazine on international relations from Islamabad. He can be reaches at tazeen303@gmail.com )
Pakistani officials repeatedly stated that Chinese model of development and poverty alleviation is worth following. They have said many times that but saying is different than implementing. If Pakistani leaders are serious in application of Chinese strategies or policies or models , they are, first of all, supposed to adopt austerity measures and economize their lavish life styles and protocols. It clearly proves that the leaders are just appeasing the Chinese government and they are not ready to act on what they speak.
Certainly, giving up the perks, privileges, powers, protocols but there are other aspects in the Chinese model that the rulers of Pakistan can easily follow. One the most important aspect of the model is use of prisoners in the construction and development of infrastructures. China is successfully having benefit from this work force that would have been a liability otherwise, as it is in Pakistan. China is actually following the model of our last Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) who very first made the most out of a would be burden on the state.
Pakistan in the World – JAN 2024
For example, after winning the war (Ghazwa e Badar) a form of ransom for release of the prisoners was teaching the illiterate Muslims as the most of the Makkans, unlike the Madinese, were literate and so each prisoner who could not afford the ransom was entrusted with ten children to teach them the art of writing and reading. Once the child had been proficient enough, the instructor would be set free.
Yes! Islamic Republic of Pakistan has a model similar to that in the jails in shape of vocational training, enhancement of education qualifications, labor as well but every one knows to what extent this model is implemented. Only a very small number of total prisoners come out of the jails as skilled or more educated persons. One in thousands ratio it is. Yes! the prisoners can have the opportunities of studying and learning skills but all that good things are found in the jail manual only, not practiced or provided.
China has benefited from every opportunity and every person of the mainland. A country can not leave anything to take the population of 1.3 Billion on the path of self reliance and further to prosperity. The prisoners are not left in prisons only to eat and sleep on the expenses of the state. They are utilized in different sectors including infrastructure development, industry, agriculture etc on the condition of their release.
The fastest infrastructure development in China was not possible without using this extra work force with less expenditures. China spends the budget of the expenses in the jails , out of the jails on the same persons but in return achieves fast development. This is the model of decreasing the expenditures , increasing the benefits, making it multi dimensional earning.
Pakistan in the World – Feb-March 2023
The prisoners’ labor is there in the construction of roads, rails, bridges, buildings, dams in China. Now when China is working on Belt and Road Initiative including CPEC, the prisoners are at work here too.
Chinese firms are using the labor of the prisoners in their construction projects in other countries as well. Thousands of Chinese prisoners were used in the construction of ports, railways and other infrastructure built by Chinese state companies in Sri Lanka. Chinese prisoners were sent to Maldives for construction of 4 thousand houses. Chinese company used the prisoners in a mining project in Zambia (Africa). These are only a few examples of the use in many countries including Pakistan.
One can raise question of security because they are criminals. The answer is ;
1- It is volunteer matter, the prisoners come forward with their wish and will for their own benefit
2- They are sent to the companies by the Chinese government that keeps check and balance through its own fool proof system
3- The prisoners can not run away in an alien country
Pakistan in the World – FEB 2024
Extra Beneficial points;
1- The prisoners are available for extra work
2- They do not have families there to take care and focus on work only
3- They do not demand facilities or leaves
4- They do not form unions because they do not have any complaint
The partner countries complain that Chinese companies do not hire local labor. In some countries , the local authorities noted another thing that the Chinese companies bring everything from their country from paper to pencil even. Certainly China produces and provides everything not only to her companies but exports to the world as well. Why they will buy something from the other countries. Similarly, when they have the largest number of prisoners (because of the largest population) in the world , why they need the labor from somewhere else?
Coming to Pakistan, on a lighter note, we had a minister of jails in Punjab decades ago. He was Malik Hakmeen Khan in the PPP Punjab cabinet. Once in a rally, in his address, finding no particular point to speak, he said, ” Our government would establish a network of jails in the whole province.”
Government of Pakistan is supposed to use this network of jails and the inhabitants of these jails for something good. China has a ready made model to follow that China opted from our own Islamic traditions and teachings. Also it is important to note a special connection between Islam and China. The last prophet of Allah said, ” Learn even if you have to travel to China.” We can do both things simultaneously from China ; Earn and Learn………….
After publication of this Article
Chinese sources shared : “Prisoners may be requested to do some work while serving in Prison. But the main purpose of legal sentence of imprisonment is to correct their misdeeds and help them become someone not harmful to society afterwards. There is no systemic use of prisoners in China for infrastructure construction. China’s successful Development is not based on large-scale use of prisoners.
Pakistan in the World – Aug / Sep 2024
