Protesters ask Chinese nationals to leave Gwadar port area

Ever since the commission of Gwadar port, local Baloch population has been at loggerheads with the Pakistani government and now another stakeholder China.

New Delhi, Jan 2: The Gwadar port is in news again, for wrong reasons this time too. The ever growing anger against Chinese occupation has received a credible threat from the local Baloch people. According to the local media reports, 'Gwadar Rights' protesters have warned the Chinese nationals to leave the port area or face consequences.

Situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan, the port is under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan. However, it's not the Pakistani government but the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) which effectively controls it. The bone of contention is that this has been sold to China without local support.

Ever since the formation of Gwadar port, the local Baloch population has been at loggerheads with the Pakistani government and now another stakeholder China.

Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman

There is already a Balochistan freedom struggle going on to get back freedom for the Balochi people and civilization against Pakistan. Thousands of Baloch freedom fighters have laid their life for the liberation. Moreover, ever since Gwadar was sold to China, the local population of Balochistan is up with arms and slogans against the dictatorial Pakistan government.

Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman is a local leader who works for the human rights of the Balochistan population there. However, this time he is in the news for warning Chinese nationals to stay away from the port areas or else face the wrath of the local population. He warns that if the government "ignores" their peaceful protests, the consequences would be great.

The Maulana has also threatened that the protesters have a right to take up and have an armed struggle to snatch their rights back. Although there are not more than 500 Chinese in Gwadar, the mere presence of imperial China has irked the locals.

BRI would not move

Given the kinds of protests Chinese occupants are facing in Gwadar, it looks like it's not going to be easy for them to colonise it. The expansion of Gwadar port, a key asset for China's BRI program, is not going well with the Baloch, hence the protests. Many Balochs have been killed by the armed forces, scores of them have gone missing.

The mass graves show how the Pakistani army killed so many Balochistan liberation fighters. Needless to say, the growing anti-China sentiment in Gwadar could also derail the whole CPEC project. People in protests have blocked Gwadar's port entrance and the Gwadar East Bay Expressway, which are both crucial for communication.

Gwadar is an important overseas military base and crucial for the BRI project. But if it turns unstable, there would definitely be great consequences.