Former Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Gwadar twice during his over three-years-long tenure while PM Shehbaz Sharif made two calls in a month. The PML(N) and its allies consider the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a game changer project for Pakistan with Gwadar holding a key position in the plan. As Mr Sharif told navy officers in Karachi on Saturday, Pakistan’s economic future was linked to the success of CPEC with Gwadar port as its “main component.”
While in Gwadar Mr Sharif complained that the crucial port city had been thoroughly neglected by the PTI government. According to him, then PM Imran Khan’s administration had failed to resolve the longstanding Issues relating to power and water supply without which a city simply cannot function. No dredging was carried out at the seaport, making it difficult for large cargo ships to anchor. Little attention was paid to completion of the international airport either. While in Gwadar Mr Sharif broke the ground for a seawater desalination plant. He emphasized speeding up the work on transmission lines in South Balochistan and ordered its completion in December this year. For the time being, he ordered to provide solar panels to domestic consumers of the port city. To redress the problems of the large fishermen community in Gwadar, Shehbaz announced the provision of 200 acres of land for the establishment of a residential colony for the fishermen besides the distribution of 2,000 motorboat engines to help them earn a livelihood.
There was a serious problem for which the PM had no answer though, namely the incidence of terrorism which constitutes a formidable obstacle in the way of investment in Gwadar and in fact the whole of Balochistan. Mr Sharif maintained that there were friendly countries who were keen to invest in agriculture, industry, and energy sectors. Unfortunately their officials, engineers and workers who are helping in developing the country are being targeted. The military solution has created further complications instead of bringing peace in Balochistan. While Shehbaz was still in the port city, the Gwadar Rights Movement led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, and family members of forcibly disappeared persons, staged protest rallies in the city. There is a need on the part of the ruling alliance to find an unconventional and peaceful solution of the issues of terrorism and forced disappearances.
