Chinese attempt to create 'Safe Zone' at Gwadar sees intense anger across Balochistan

Peshawar: – China that is building a naval base at the Gwadar port has expedited its activities. China has started building a Safe Zone in the Gwadar port region and the work for erecting a 10-foot tall wall and steel wire fencing has been started. There is intense resentment expressed by the local population and the political circles. Thus, this has strengthened the anti-China sentiment.

The Chinese regime has invested billions of dollars into Pakistan, under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). While taking over the Gwadar port under the scheme, China has also started intrusion in various other parts. The movement of Chinese officials and citizens has increased in the main cities of Balochistan. Moreover, incidents have surfaced that they don’t pay heed even to the Pakistan authorities. The Baloch rebel organisations have taken an aggressive stand against this and have started attacking the Chinese companies, officials and workers.

China has been rocked due to these attacks by the Baloch rebel groups and concerns are being expressed regarding the security of the CPEC and more specifically, regarding the most important Gwadar port project. Although the Pakistani agencies are assisting China, the attacks on the Chinese interests have not stopped. Therefore, forwarding the security issue, China has started moves for tightening its grip on the Gwadar project. The implementation of the ‘Gwadar Smart Port City Master Plan’ has been started with the help of the Pakistani authorities. Under this plan, 15,000 acres of land has been acquired, wire fencing and wall building has started along the boundaries. Thus, the Pakistani authorities will Gwadar port and an area of about 24 square kilometres around it. Three entry points have been defined, which will be equipped with tight security. 500 high-definition surveillance cameras will be used to monitor every part of the zone. The local lawmakers claimed that China could also implement a ‘Permit System’ for entry into the secured zone.

Sources claimed that the construction at Gwadar is a part of the comprehensive Chinese policy to secure the CPEC. After Gwadar, the sources also said that all the projects under CPEC will be secured with a safe zone and will be completely taken over by China. These mainly includes projects from Sindh and Balochistan. China is currently building four hydroelectric projects in the Sindh Province and China is also trying to develop the marine sector in this region.

These activities endorse the accusations levelled by the Baloch and Pakistani analysts over CPEC. MQM chief Altaf Hussain accused the Pakistan military of trying to hand over the entire country to China by adopting Chinese policies. The Baloch rebels, representatives and analysts are claiming that under the pretext of CPEC, China is trying to take over the Balochistan province under its control. The issue of atrocities meted out by the Pakistan military to the Baloch people is making waves on the international level. In this situation, the Chinese efforts to build its naval base at the Gwadar port are increasing the concerns for India and the other leading countries of the world. This could result in Pakistan facing opposition from the Gulf countries along with the United States and European countries. The prudent class in Pakistan asks whether the Pakistan government and the military had given it a thought, before handing over the Gwadar port to China.