QUETTA: The head of negotiators for the provincial government of Balochistan said on Thursday he was ‘hopeful’ a month-long protest in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar would be called off this afternoon, saying all of the protesters’ demands had been met.
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.
Protests against illegal trawling, a growing drugs trade and the lack of basic facilities like health and education erupted in mid-November and have gone on since under the banner of “Give Gwadar its Rights.” The movement gained momentum in the last week of November after thousands of women and children joined the protest.
“Talks between the Government negotiation team headed by CM Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo and Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman [the protest leader] have been finalized and the government has accepted all demands,” Zahoor Buledi, a provincial minister who is leading talks from the government side, told Arab News.
“CM Balochistan accompanied by federal ministers will visit the protest camp at 5pm today to announce the decisions in public.”
He added: “We are much hopeful that Maulana will call off the protest after meeting with the CM today.”
Rehman, who is the head of the Jamaat-i-Islami party in the port city, told Arab News the government had accepted all demands but the decision to call off demonstrations was not yet final.
“We are waiting for the chief minister and federal ministers who are scheduled to come to us today,” he said. “We will announce future plans after meeting them.”
Gwadar’s residents 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. They say the Chinese project has robbed them of their primary source of livelihood, fishing, as giant fishing trawlers have come in through the Arabian Sea, resulting in the closure of a majority of fish processing factories.
China has said it is willing to work with the Pakistan government to ensure the benefits of CPEC projects trickle down to locals.
Balochistan government says ‘hopeful’ Gwadar protests to be called off today
https://arab.news/6v9ju
Balochistan government says ‘hopeful’ Gwadar protests to be called off today
- Protests against illegal trawling, drugs trade and lack of health and education facilities have gone on since mid-November
- Protest leader Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman says government accepted all demands but decision to call off protests not final
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
