Gwadar Port: A Mega Plan to Eliminate Baloch

By Nobat Marri

Balochistan has always been an attraction for superpowers for its strategic location and massive reserves of natural resources, be it the colonial era of 1700-1900 of Britain or post-colonial era of Pakistani occupation and the cold war between Soviet Union and USA.  The people of Balochistan have suffered for several centuries in the hands of colonizers and occupiers. Baloch conditions have gone from bad to worse after artificial states of Iran and Pakistan occupied Balochistan in 1928 and 1948 respectively.

The people of Balochistan with huge deposit of gold, oil, gas and other natural resources have been deprived from even the basic rights of health facilities, educations, electricity and drinking water. Child mortality rate in Balochistan is one of the highest in the world. Much higher than many impoverished countries of Africa.

Pakistan since the occupation of eastern Balochistan has been engaged in exploiting the wealth of Baloch land with the help of other undemocratic states like China. History of Punjabi domination of Balochistan is a history of enforced disappearances, torture, kill and dump of Baloch youths and bombardments on Baloch villages and towns. Balochistan under occupation of Pakistan’s religious establishment is Forbidden City for international press and independent local journalists. Anybody who tried to disclose the atrocities of Pakistan’s invading army will be abducted, tortured and killed or disappeared.

Eastern occupied Balochistan, since 1948 has always, except few months in 1970s, been under direct control of Pakistani army, religious and commercial establishment. After Musharraf’s coup in 1999, the army wanted to have a complete monopoly of Balochistan. Once again unabated string of operations abductions torture and in-custody killing of Baloch youth have started and continue till date.  Today, Balochistan is a free zone for Chinese exploiters, Punjabi army, ISI and their proxy extremists, Mullahs and Taliban.

To turn Baloch into minority and have full control of Balochistan, Pakistan has inaugurated mega projects in Balochistan during Musharraf era claiming to uplift the economical condition of poverty stricken Balochistan. But in reality it is a mega plan to marginalise Baloch. No colonial project on behalf of colonisers to serve the interest of colonisers would serve the subjugated people. One of the project is Gwadar port which Pakistan leased to China overseas port Holdings Company. The first phase of this project was completed in 2005. The central aim of this scheme is to connect the western landlocked parts of China and Punjab to the resources of Central Asia. At the same time for China to use Gwadar as a military outpost in her imperial rivalry against USA and India.

Gwadar Port is situated just outside the Strait of Hormuz from where 80% of world energy is flowing. China’s 60% energy supplies comes through Strait of Hormuz. It is where the US has a base.  China needed cheaper and more secure alternative route to import its energy from central Asia and export Chinese goods to Europe via central Asia without any disturbance from US. For that purpose Gwadar port serves both the economic and strategic interests of Chinese imperial ambition and cuts thousands of miles which saves billions of dollars to china. To make the colonization process further easy China recently made agreements with Pakistan for connecting its western Xinjiang province to central Asia through road and rail links via Pakistan and Balochistan to have easy access on the resources of Balochistan and other Central Asian countries.

However, on the other hand Baloch nation considers these projects and agreements between china and Pakistan illegal. These agreements are not between the Baloch nation and China to serve the interest of Baloch and Chinese nations. These agreements only serve the interest of Chinese and Punjabi army, commercial and religious establishment. It is worth mentioning that Pakistan i.e. Punjabi elite and establishment for their survival after breaking from its mother land India is undefinable freak state. It is weak and extremely corrupt. The Pakistani colonialism is so irrational and out of date that it is always vulnerable to crumble. That is why they are doing everything in their power to sustain their occupation over Balochistan and plunder its resources. They are leasing Balochistan’s resources to China to serve both Chinese and its landlocked Punjab’s interests and survival.

 Balochistan will be the wrestling ground for superpowers like US, China, India and Russia in coming decades. As result Baloch will suffer from both parts of Pakistani and Iranian occupied Balochistan.

India is developing Chabahar port and connecting India via Afghanistan to Chahbahar to limit Chinese influence in central Asia and have access to resources of Middle East. Because china has already encircled India through Pakistan, and Xinjinag on the western borders and Gwadar port will serve as line of defence and cantonments against Indian presence in western Balochistan and US in Hormuz. Strait of Hormuz is around 400KM away from Gwadar port, where US troops are stationed and monitoring Chinese oil supplies from middle-east.

The Baloch will suffer greatly if they fail to secure their borders and gain control of their resources. China is developing Gwadar port not only for its energy supplies but also to colonize Balochistan and use Gwadar port as a strategic garrison similar to that of Britain policy of colonizing  India by means of east India company.

China seems to be treading on the footsteps of British Empire. British merchants first entered into India as traders. Then they started stationing their troops. Following that they started to control the local people and looting their wealth. In the same way China through fake agreements with Pakistan in 1970s have been looting the Saindak Gold.  Chinese plan and control of Gwadar port is due to her imperial drive and desire. The aim of building Gwadar port is also being seen by many analysts as Chinese grand plan to encircle India and have her presence at the heart of rich Middle East. On the other hand China is also building ports of Chittagong in Bangladesh and Hambantota in Sri Lanka which are parts of the same scheme to sandwich India.

After British left India a segment of India was hacked out of its body to cause a permanent injury to Indian nation. Pakistanis (Punjabis) are Indian. They are Indians who are ashamed of their identity and origin! Pakistan is a fake and rather reprehensible term. It means a land of “clean people.” It just happened that the British colonisers used the Punjabi Muslims as their obedient servants and as instrument of supressing the Indian independence movement that they were gifted for loyalty to British colonial rulers with a slice of India after its independence. The Pakistan’s now elitists Punjabi the colonial servants overnight became the master of a fake country called “Pakistan.” The whole fiasco was and is as absurd as that.

The agreements between Pakistan and China also could be seen in the light of the history of Punjab expecting help from China to turn Baloch into minority just as China has done in Xinjiang. China has turned the indigenous Uighurs into minority in their homeland by settling Han Chinese people from other parts of China.  In 1960s Ughuir population was around 90% but now is less than 41%. Pakistan is also following a similar plan in Balochistan with the help of China.

There is another project underway to connect western China to Balochistan via Punjab through road and rail, which is called Gwadar-Kashgar corridor. Pakistan has signed Gwadar-kashgar rail link agreements with china recently and the work is expected to begin shortly. If Pakistan and China succeed in their plans then the influx of Chinese and Punjabis to dominate Balochistan and to marginalize Baloch in their homeland would be inevitable.

Hyrbyair Marri a leading figure of Baloch liberation movement in a recent statement warned the world about adverse consequences of the agreement between China and Pakistan on Baloch port of Gwadar. This plan is not just against Baloch people but against all democratic and free world. It will bring more instability, misery, fundamentalism and violence in the region.

Hyrbyair Marri termed Pakistan and Chinese nexus on Gwadar as drowning of Baloch nation in Baloch Ocean (Behr e Baloch). Because China and Pakistan wants to turn Baloch into minority on Baloch land and settle millions of people from China and Punjab in Balochistan through these mega plans which are being initiated in Balochistan under the supervision of Pakistani army.

If Baloch as a nation failed to unite and liberate Baloch nation from Pakistani and Iranian occupation then it may be too late the time when we recognise the full consequences of the decisions made on our behalf by the colonial states of Pakistan and Iran. This is high time for Baloch forces to get united to regain our freedom before we are totally side-lined. Baloch have to gain control of their resources. Above all, they have to recognise their identity as a nation that lived on the same land for many hundred years.

The world must realise that Baloch are for economic development and progress but these decisions should be made in free and democratic Balochistan between true representatives of Baloch people with other nations that are mutually beneficial to the counter-parties. Baloch are against exploitation of their people and resources by the occupying states and they understand that only in a free and democratic Balochistan Baloch people will be able to express their full potential and live a life with dignity and pride. Such life is simply impossible under Punjabi and Persian theocratic colonial rules. Without smashing these cages and breaking free Baloch cannot live a life of a whole person in a free and secure environment.