Context

China under the multi-billion-dollar CPEC will set up ‘Kohala hydropower project’, a 1,124-megawatt power project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir despite India’s objection to it.

About

About the project

• The project will be built on the Jhelum River and aims at annually providing more than five billion units of clean and low-cost electricity for consumers in Pakistan.
• This marks one of the largest investments of USD 2.4 billion in an independent power producer (IPP) in the region.

What is CEPC?

• The 3,000-km-long CEPC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical cable fiber networks.
• It connects China’s Xinjiang province with Pakistan Gwadar port, providing access to China to the Arabian Sea.
• The CPEC passes through PoK, over which India has conveyed its protests to China. 

India’s view on the development

• India’s stance against CPEC is Pakistan’s illegal Occupation of Kashmir (PoK).  China and Pakistan are jointly accelerating Construction under the Belt & Road Initiative.
• The project passes through Gilgit-Baltistan in PoK, which New Delhi considers its own territory.
• India has consistently objected to this, calling it a violation of its Sovereignty.
• The Chinese side is well aware of India’s position that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recent developments are entirely a matter internal to us.