QUETTA: Residents of Pakistan’s Gwadar port city announced to call off their month-long sit-in on Thursday after Balochistan’s chief minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo visited the protest site and signed an agreement that acknowledged the government’s willingness to meet all the demands of the demonstrators.
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 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.
“The federal and provincial ministers have assured us to fully meet our demands,” Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman, who was spearheading the movement, told Arab News. “We have decided to call off our protest since we are optimistic the government will fulfil its commitments. However, I will personally monitor its progress after a month.”
Addressing the demonstrators, the Balochistan chief minister said the provincial authorities had realized the extent of the economic woes faced by the people of Gwadar due to illegal trawling and border restrictions while negotiating with the demonstrators.
“I want to congratulate the protesters for their prolonged movement,” he said. “Today your legitimate demands have been accepted by the federal and provincial governments.”
According to the agreement signed between the two sides, a copy of which was obtained by Arab News, the government will constitute a committee to conduct a survey regarding unnecessary check posts in Gwadar and Makran Division before removing them from these areas.
Local fishermen will have the independence to catch fish between 12 to 30 nautical miles from the seashore, and they will not be restricted during any VIP movement in the town.
“A joint patrolling team comprising district administration and local fishermen will be constituted to monitor and curb illegal trawling on Gwadar’s seashore,” the agreement added.
Speaking to Arab News, Rehman said the government had removed 200 check posts in the port city and pledged to abolish more in the coming days.
“Despite immense natural wealth, people in Balochistan are deprived of water, electricity, gas and other facilities,” he continued. “If the government had not taken serious action on our demands, we would have taken thousands of people with us and marched toward Quetta and Islamabad.”
The agreement also says the government would hand over business activities at the Pakistan-Iran border to the district administration and end trade unions to provide more business opportunities to the area’s residents.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the Gwadar protest where hundreds of people poured into the streets for several weeks while directing the federal and provincial authorities to take strict action against those involved in illegal trawling.
He promised strong action against illegal fishing by trawlers and said his administration would address the grievances of Gwadar’s local residents.
