Special Economic Zones: CPEC Security, De/centralization and Economic Development

China is develop nine Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The primary objective of establishing these projects is to promote skilled employment, stable economic growth and to find new trade and investment opportunities for Pakistan with the regional and international community. These SEZs are important economic pitches for the Chinese investors, but it does not mean an assured investment flow from China in the government domain. Building these SEZs is meant to establish decentralization, but the SEZs 2012 Act is highly centralized in its nature and provides a legal monopoly to the federal government in resource mobilization. On the other hand, the business-friendly environment in the country has not yet been established due to the security concerns. Overall, it seems that these SEZs in the current domain only increase further state securitization and resource centralization rather than the promotion of economic development for the nation. The annual inflow of FDI is already less than $ 2 billion due to the domestic political uncertainty. This research paper has critically examined the role of Pakistan's federal government in establishing the SEZs and further has tried to evaluate the argument on how these zones in the present policy domain are meant to promote state securitization and centralization rather than to promote economic development and skilled employment for Pakistan. The paper examines Pakistan’s approach to establishing SEZs, highlighting the dominance of federal control and advocating for greater provincial and local involvement to create a more inclusive, business-friendly environment.