What's new

Gwadar: Pakistan's new Great Game

fatman17

PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
Apr 24, 2007
32,585
98
38,698
Country
Pakistan
Location
Pakistan
Gwadar: Pakistan's new Great Game

The dream of making the port of Gwadar an economic hub has been destroyed by a superpower struggle for influence

Rina Saeed Khan guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 April 2011


Gwadar may eventually be connected with the Karakoram highway that runs between Islamabad and China.

Miles away from the war on terror being fought in Pakistan's north on the border with Afghanistan is another insurgency whose hub is the port city of Gwadar, located near Iran on the Makran coast. Unlike the battle against the Taliban, this uprising receives little international attention, although it is set against the backdrop of competing superpower interests, reminiscent of the Great Game when Russia and the British empire fought for control over this region.

Eight years ago, the dream was for the small fishing port of Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province to be transformed into a duty-free port and a free economic zone. The hope was that Gwadar would become a regional hub of shipping, commercial and industrial activities, providing a link between Pakistan and the vast oil and gas reserves of central Asia.

A real estate frenzy followed as land was bought from locals at exorbitant prices. Billboards proclaiming future housing estates and resorts were put up overnight and work began on the port with Chinese help. A two-lane highway linking Gwadar with Karachi was completed in record time. Today, the port has been finished and is ready for ships but Gwadar looks more like a ghost town than a gold-rush town. Empty plots of land still await the buildings that were promised but never built. Oddly enough, instead of handing the port over to the Chinese government, it was leased out to the Singapore government three years ago. It is only used at half its capacity and the cranes are already getting rusty from lack of use.

Located near an important shipping lane, the deep seaport was built by the China Harbour Engineering Company Group. The Chinese government invested heavily in this project, up to $200m some say, so that landlocked western China could benefit from access to the sea. As an emerging superpower hungry for energy, China needs access to the oil and gas rich Central Asian states. The Chinese have also been keen to assist Pakistan in building other roads to acquire a 3,500km link between Kashgar (near the border with Pakistan) and Gwadar.

They are currently helping the Pakistan government to widen the Karakoram highway that connects Islamabad to China through Pakistan's high mountain ranges. It appears that there is a long-term plan to eventually connect the Karakoram highway with Gwadar. This is upsetting the other emerging superpower of the region, India, who does not want China's security establishment to have safe passage to the Arabian Sea. The fear they have been articulating is that Gwadar might become a naval outpost for the Chinese.

The local people, who hoped to benefit from the construction of the port, are crushed by the disappointing turn of events. "We were expecting change to come," says Asghar Shah, a local resident who works for an NGO. "But it was a big let down – we are victims of the new Great Game." The government of Pakistan was allegedly pressured not to hand the port over to the Chinese. In fact, the Americans eye Gwadar as a potential military base, given the proximity of Iran. The locals are reluctant to criticise their government's handling of Gwadar, though. "People disappear in Gwadar – their bodies are found dumped in a remote area a few days or weeks later. No one knows who is behind it," says Asghar Shah, refusing to speculate further.

There is a more immediate problem at present. The Baloch nationalists are opposed to any development in Gwadar because they say these mega projects will marginalise the local Baloch population. Balochistan's development record is dismal. Covering nearly 350,000 square kilometres, it is by far the largest province in the country but houses less than 7% of Pakistan's population. The basic quality of life indicators are abysmal. On-tap drinking water is available to less than 5% of the population. The female literacy rate is under 15%.

The Baloch people are demanding more autonomy for the province. For decades, Pakistan's Balochistan province has been the scene of sporadic clashes between government troops and guerrillas who are fighting for autonomy. In the past few years, the rebels have again stepped up their attacks. Government troops and installations across the province have come under rocket attack and bombings, especially Gwadar town. Last month, seven army personnel and three labourers building a road near the Iranian border were killed by unidentified gunmen. The Baloch nationalists fear that if Gwadar grows into a modern city, the Baloch people will become a minority in their own province. No one is quite sure who is funding them, but there are rumours that they get support from India.

Gwadar is today a deserted town where outsiders are looked upon with suspicion. Most of the educated young people have moved out to look for jobs in the other big towns and cities of Pakistan. The new and luxurious Pearl Continental Hotel built on a cliff overlooking the port and the town below is empty – it has been closed down for "renovations". The road leading to the small airport outside the town is heavily guarded by security forces. There are no tourists now – most have been scared off by the attacks. Foreigners do not dare to venture here either.

For centuries, Gwadar has also been a smuggler's paradise – it was once infamous for its human trafficking in slaves and it is still a place where illegal immigrants are smuggled into the Middle East and beyond. The idea had been to capitalise on its location, but the dream of Gwadar remains just that. Pakistan's strategic location as a gateway to the oil and gas riches of central Asia means that it will remain a battleground for competing interests for the foreseeable future. The Great Game continues well into the 21st century.
 
Once Afghan Taliban regains control of Afghanistan, U.S. leaves Afghanistan, and Afghan Taliban kicks out all Indians out of Afghanistan and destroys all Indian embassies, then we will see drastic improvements in not only Gwadar but in all of Balochistan and all of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Just be patient.
 
^ Learn to live in the present.

The problem of Gwadar is a bungle the government has done. Without thinking of helping the local people and economy, they have made it a carrot infront of the horses. I feel the whole development was done without proper economic feasibility studies, and has rather been always dragged on to strategic games. The Balochi issue hasn't helped the cause as well.
 
^ Learn to live in the present.

The problem of Gwadar is a bungle the government has done. Without thinking of helping the local people and economy, they have made it a carrot infront of the horses. I feel the whole development was done without proper economic feasibility studies, and has rather been always dragged on to strategic games. The Balochi issue hasn't helped the cause as well.

This is feasible and there is enough economical potential but what wrote in first post there are some hurdles Pakistan is facing from couple of countries which are continuously trying to block this economical potential by all means.
 
India will never object to Gwadar as a Pakistani port being used by Pakistanis for their commercial activities. However as a port leased to China, catering to Chinese commercial and naval needs, the answer is a no-brainer. Now, in geopolitics, space and time means a lot. We have no problem with Pakistan developing its capabilities and the Pak economy flourishing, but if the active linkage of the Karakoran highway to Gwadar can be held back by even another 5 years, the Indian naval presence in the Arabian sea will be so strong as to limit the Chinese presence at Gwadar to a mere listening post like they have in Myanmar.

Now, even this is more than we would like, but it is the best we can do. In the meanwhile, please do not blame us for your suicidal activities of sending Pakistani mercenaries to Bahrain and the Pak Army to Saudi Arabia ( 2 divisions) to fight the Shias while your Gwadar port is a mere 800 miles from the Iranian border.
 
Gwader can change the fate of whole Pakistan.We pakistanis sometime believe in conspiracies.We blame India and US for destablizing Pakistan but we forget that we have given this place to US.They are allowed to do anything from our country then why we blame them in afghanistaan.We are treating Baloch people as 2nd class citizen of PAkistan.hundreds of them are missing and each week many are kidnapped and their dead bodies are found from deserts.We should accept that all this is happening in our country and no 1 other can solve this except us.We should first solve our issues with Baloch people and then no one from outside can harm Pakistan
Long Live Pakistan
 
We have no problem with Pakistan developing its capabilities and the Pak economy flourishing

this is rubbish, if pakistan has more economic success then so by extension the military will get more weapons and this will upset india.

please dont be s dishonest.
 
Now, even this is more than we would like, but it is the best we can do. In the meanwhile, please do not blame us for your suicidal activities of sending Pakistani mercenaries to Bahrain and the Pak Army to Saudi Arabia ( 2 divisions) to fight the Shias while your Gwadar port is a mere 800 miles from the Iranian border.

Iran have no problems with US army stationed in Middle east so why would they worry about Pakistani army and majority of Irani's are against Ahmadenejagd government. China invested $10Bil in Irani oil fields so they will not have any problem with Chinese presence at Gawadar and don't underestimate Irani's they are more sensible when it comes to Indians.
 
united Arab emirates is the main factor who is funding anti Pakistan elements to stop work on gwadar
2nd iran who is building char bhag port in iran
3rd is our corrupt leader ship
 
Gwadar: Pakistan's new Great Game

The dream of making the port of Gwadar an economic hub has been destroyed by a superpower struggle for influence

Rina Saeed Khan guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 April 2011


Gwadar may eventually be connected with the Karakoram highway that runs between Islamabad and China.

Miles away from the war on terror being fought in Pakistan's north on the border with Afghanistan is another insurgency whose hub is the port city of Gwadar, located near Iran on the Makran coast. Unlike the battle against the Taliban, this uprising receives little international attention, although it is set against the backdrop of competing superpower interests, reminiscent of the Great Game when Russia and the British empire fought for control over this region.

Eight years ago, the dream was for the small fishing port of Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province to be transformed into a duty-free port and a free economic zone. The hope was that Gwadar would become a regional hub of shipping, commercial and industrial activities, providing a link between Pakistan and the vast oil and gas reserves of central Asia.

A real estate frenzy followed as land was bought from locals at exorbitant prices. Billboards proclaiming future housing estates and resorts were put up overnight and work began on the port with Chinese help. A two-lane highway linking Gwadar with Karachi was completed in record time. Today, the port has been finished and is ready for ships but Gwadar looks more like a ghost town than a gold-rush town. Empty plots of land still await the buildings that were promised but never built. Oddly enough, instead of handing the port over to the Chinese government, it was leased out to the Singapore government three years ago. It is only used at half its capacity and the cranes are already getting rusty from lack of use.

Located near an important shipping lane, the deep seaport was built by the China Harbour Engineering Company Group. The Chinese government invested heavily in this project, up to $200m some say, so that landlocked western China could benefit from access to the sea. As an emerging superpower hungry for energy, China needs access to the oil and gas rich Central Asian states. The Chinese have also been keen to assist Pakistan in building other roads to acquire a 3,500km link between Kashgar (near the border with Pakistan) and Gwadar.

They are currently helping the Pakistan government to widen the Karakoram highway that connects Islamabad to China through Pakistan's high mountain ranges. It appears that there is a long-term plan to eventually connect the Karakoram highway with Gwadar. This is upsetting the other emerging superpower of the region, India, who does not want China's security establishment to have safe passage to the Arabian Sea. The fear they have been articulating is that Gwadar might become a naval outpost for the Chinese.

The local people, who hoped to benefit from the construction of the port, are crushed by the disappointing turn of events. "We were expecting change to come," says Asghar Shah, a local resident who works for an NGO. "But it was a big let down – we are victims of the new Great Game." The government of Pakistan was allegedly pressured not to hand the port over to the Chinese. In fact, the Americans eye Gwadar as a potential military base, given the proximity of Iran. The locals are reluctant to criticise their government's handling of Gwadar, though. "People disappear in Gwadar – their bodies are found dumped in a remote area a few days or weeks later. No one knows who is behind it," says Asghar Shah, refusing to speculate further.

There is a more immediate problem at present. The Baloch nationalists are opposed to any development in Gwadar because they say these mega projects will marginalise the local Baloch population. Balochistan's development record is dismal. Covering nearly 350,000 square kilometres, it is by far the largest province in the country but houses less than 7% of Pakistan's population. The basic quality of life indicators are abysmal. On-tap drinking water is available to less than 5% of the population. The female literacy rate is under 15%.

The Baloch people are demanding more autonomy for the province. For decades, Pakistan's Balochistan province has been the scene of sporadic clashes between government troops and guerrillas who are fighting for autonomy. In the past few years, the rebels have again stepped up their attacks. Government troops and installations across the province have come under rocket attack and bombings, especially Gwadar town. Last month, seven army personnel and three labourers building a road near the Iranian border were killed by unidentified gunmen. The Baloch nationalists fear that if Gwadar grows into a modern city, the Baloch people will become a minority in their own province. No one is quite sure who is funding them, but there are rumours that they get support from India.

Gwadar is today a deserted town where outsiders are looked upon with suspicion. Most of the educated young people have moved out to look for jobs in the other big towns and cities of Pakistan. The new and luxurious Pearl Continental Hotel built on a cliff overlooking the port and the town below is empty – it has been closed down for "renovations". The road leading to the small airport outside the town is heavily guarded by security forces. There are no tourists now – most have been scared off by the attacks. Foreigners do not dare to venture here either.

For centuries, Gwadar has also been a smuggler's paradise – it was once infamous for its human trafficking in slaves and it is still a place where illegal immigrants are smuggled into the Middle East and beyond. The idea had been to capitalise on its location, but the dream of Gwadar remains just that. Pakistan's strategic location as a gateway to the oil and gas riches of central Asia means that it will remain a battleground for competing interests for the foreseeable future. The Great Game continues well into the 21st century.

I think it should be simple like: Pakistan Govt. should look towards arranging some money to give back to China which it invested $1 Billion or less like $700 Million.

Also, an important element is buidling our own Gwadar Port Authority(GPA) by shifting experienced people of Port Qasim and KPT there and also training local Balochs as well.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)


Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom