Pakistan is in a bad trap by handing over Gwadar to China, Baloch rebelled, Shahbaz government is not well
Handing over Gwadar port to China has become a headache for Pakistan. The residents of Gwadar have revolted against this decision. The anger of the Baloch of Gwadar has further flared up due to the fact that the Pakistan government is erecting a fence around the port city of Gwadar. Dr Mehrang Baloch, a prominent activist and leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), says the Pakistan government is planning to erect fences around the port city of Gwadar and steal land from the local people.
Demonstrations taking place in Gwadar
This year, he led a sit-in in Islamabad demanding the release of missing persons from Balochistan, whom he said had been abducted by the Pakistani military. Since then she has been vocal for the Baloch. On 12 May, the local population along with the Baloch Yaqzehti Committee led a protest against the fencing of Gwadar. Apart from this, a campaign was also launched against it on social media. In 2020, the Government of Pakistan announced plans to make Gwadar a ‘safe city’ by installing fencing around it under the pretext of ensuring security.
Pakistan is fortifying Gwadar
The plan was to cordon off 24 square kilometers of Gwadar city, which is the center of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Gwadar city was to have two entry points and more than 500 surveillance cameras were to be installed. The government has started work on the fence but has denied that any construction has taken place following the protests. Local people believe that the main purpose of fencing in Gwadar is to cordon it off and it is easier for the government to control who enters and who leaves.
Baloch are being evicted from their own land
Mehrang says that specific projects like CPEC turn against the local people, adding that CPEC has not provided drinking water facilities and is now taking their land. For more than four years, the Baloch have opposed the CPEC, and protests by locals initially forced the government to halt work on the project. However, the government later resumed work on the project. The question of the local people is that how can the government stop the Baloch from stepping on their land.
Different suffering of the people of Gwadar
Some have argued that the government is creating obstacles for local residents in Gwadar, forcing them to leave their homes and land. During torrential rains this year, local people drowned in rain water and no official authorities assisted them in their safety. Mehrang said local people struggled to survive after losing everything. He said farmers in the Gwadar region do not have enough water to do farming and the army has completely taken control of fishing, which is the primary source of income for the Baloch living here.
Pakistan is harassing the people of Gwadar
He further said that the army conducted search operations in various areas of Gwadar, harassed residents and abducted them. He said the small town of Surbandhar in Gwadar has been surrounded by the army and more than 20 residents have been abducted. “Now, no one knows where they are. The government uses every cruel tactic to force people to leave their lands. Even though locals and the BYC were protesting against the fencing of Gwadar this year, condemnation of the fencing has overall been less intense than in 2020, when even political parties in Pakistan’s parliament opposed it.
