ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed on Sunday to take action against illegal trawling in the waters off Pakistan’s Gwadar as protests by fishermen continue in the southwestern seaport.
Gwadar is in Pakistan’s impoverished southwestern province of Balochistan, a sparsely populated, mountainous, desert region bordering Afghanistan and Iran. China has been involved in the development of the Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea as part of a $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure project.
But locals of the city have long complained that Chinese presence and investment in the area has done little to improve their lives, particularly with regards to water scarcity and jobs.
Protests against the lack of basic facilities have gone since November under the banner of “Give Gwadar its Rights,” with thousands of women and children also joining the demonstrations in an unprecedented development.
The protesters’ main demands include the provision of basic health and educational facilities, action against illegal trawling, the abolishment of a token system at the Pakistan-Iran border, removal of security check posts in the city and an end to narcotics smuggling.
“I have taken notice of the very legitimate demands of the hardworking fishermen of Gwadar. Will be taking strong action against illegal fishing by trawlers,” Khan said in a tweet.
Earlier this week, Balochistan planning minster Zahoor Ahmed Buledi told Arab News authorities had agreed to meet most of the demands presented by the demonstrators.
“They presented twelve demands, four of them were major while others were minor,” he said. “There has been progress on almost all the twelve demands: Trawling has decreased in the sea to a great extent, the border trade management system has improved and the issue of check posts has been largely addressed.”
Last month, China said it was willing to work with Pakistan to ensure its projects delivered benefits for Gwadar locals.
“The Gwadar Port, a leading project of CPEC,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing on Nov. 29.
“China is ready to work with Pakistan to advance the high-quality development of CPEC so as to deliver more benefits to the local people.”
