Chinese Influence and Pakistan’s Gwadar - Gwadar Is Being Fenced off to Make It Inaccessible for Local Baloch People
By Ayesha Siddiqa
05 August,
2024
Women In Balochistan
Have Given A Political Voice And Face To The Anxiety Of Thousands Who Have Lost
Their Loved Ones And Are Desperate To Find Them. The State Finds It Much More
Difficult To Counter This Political Movement Than The Insurgency.
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File
photo of Gwadar Port, Pakistan | Wikimedia Commons
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As China
and Pakistan get ready to inaugurate an international airport in Gwadar, the
seaport town is experiencing a different kind of excitement. On 28 July,
thousands of Baloch gathered in Gwadar for Rajee Muchi, a Baloch national
gathering, to protest for their rights. They claim their town of Gwadar is
being fenced off to make it inaccessible to the local population. Their agenda
also included drawing attention toward years of State terror, which has
resulted in the disappearance of Baloch individuals, and a cry for their right
over local resources.
State
authorities were sceptical of the Balochistan Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) demand
to hold a peaceful gathering in Gwadar. The provincial government continued to
deny them permission and suggested alternative venues in cities like Turbat.
The government did not want the protest to be held in Gwadar because of its
suspicion of the gathering turning violent. Given the government’s eagerness to
placate China’s security concerns in the area, its hesitation was obvious.
While the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Agreement seems largely
stalled, China has a dominant presence in Gwadar, which has led Islamabad to
suspect that the protest might be used as a tool by international players to
damage China-Pakistan bilateral relations and their joint interests in the
province.
According
to Mahrang Baloch, a prominent human rights activist who called for Rajee Muchi
and is leading the campaign against extra-judicial killings and forced
disappearances in Balochistan, the Commissioner in Quetta informed her that the
Chinese didn’t want the gathering to take place in Gwadar. She claims that
Chinese influence extends indirectly through the Balochistan government and its
officials. However, other sources I spoke with were of the view that due to its
investment and stakes in Balochistan, China even offered to help the Pakistan
government physically eliminate Baloch insurgency and political movement. This offer was not entertained, likely due to
its long-term political repercussions and because Islamabad wants to
demonstrate an upper hand over the situation.
Not
surprisingly, violence broke out at the Rajee Muchi. The government accused the
protestors of killing a Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and injuring another 16
security personnel. The BYC, on the other hand, claims that innocent protestors
were fired upon. As both sides have their own version, it is almost impossible
to get a true picture. Needless to say, such violence and chaos seemed
inevitable as it was grounded on high levels of suspicion and anxiety among the
local Baloch population.
Fight for Home, Heritage
The BYC’s
logic for holding the protest in Gwadar can be explained as a natural political
pushback. The port city, which was once home to thousands of Baloch fishermen,
is now being sealed off to keep ordinary Baloch out or make their access
difficult. Sources I spoke with said that fishing has become difficult for
local fishermen, who now need fishing permits from the navy. Life, in any case,
is difficult due to a shortage of clean drinking water and other facilities.
While Gwadar is a strategic spot for the Pakistani State, for the ordinary
Baloch, it is part of their heritage that is now being denied to them.
The recent
encounter between security forces and protestors is likely to result in more
abductions, thus, deepening a problem that is fast becoming unmanageable for
the State. Baloch disappearances are a major issue that can no longer be taken
lightly, partly because it is getting noticed internationally but mainly
because it has emerged into a powerful local voice. Women in Balochistan have
given a political voice and face to the anxiety of thousands who have lost
their loved ones and are desperate to find them. The State finds it much more
difficult to counter this political movement than the insurgency. While the
insurgency itself is a big problem for the security forces, it can be
politically countered based on the State’s right to protect itself against
internal security threats. The authorities are unable to silence the political
voice with more people protesting in other towns of Balochistan against the
repression in Gwadar.
The
movement for the disappeared is a potent political strategy that shows how a
political voice is stronger than insurgency. It exposes an authoritarian system
more, especially if it refuses to engage in a meaningful dialogue. It is far
more difficult to justify clamping down voices and peaceful protest. When
Mahrang Baloch and other young women marched to Islamabad in May this year,
advocating for the rights of those whose family members were forcibly abducted,
the caretaker government found it difficult to silence them. It was even harder for the world to ignore
the maltreatment of the protestors. The BYC holds a clear advantage in the
battle of narratives against Pakistan’s security establishment. Beating the
state politically and through building a powerful narrative is something that
the younger generation of activists has learnt from other movements such as the
Pushtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) but also its own past mistakes.
Logically,
the issue of disappearances could be solved politically. However, this is
easier said than done especially when the establishment and its political
partners believe that cracking down on dissent and abductions are the only
recipe. The current ruling regime in Pakistan is deficient in the art of
political language and believes that force is the only tool to be used.
Balochistan
is even more problematic because the popular narrative is incomprehensible to
the ruling regime. It is unable to comprehend that the younger generation is
exhausted of political machinations and the blatant mismanagement of their
province over decades. The recent elections in Balochistan give little hope, as
the results were heavily manipulated to bring in a government that has no
sympathy among the people.
The hurt
and anger among the ordinary Baloch date back to the years of the British
colonial era to over 75 years of post-colonial rule, where Balochistan’s
significance has been largely reduced to the exploitation of its mineral
resources without giving much in return. The assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti
in 2006, a tribal leader who was willing to talk to the state, emphasised the
reality that the state was not appreciative of any dialogue with the Baloch. In
the words of an activist, “The problem is that Balochistan was never taken
seriously.” A solution can only come about with political normalcy and
stability returning to Pakistan, which itself seems like an uphill task.
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Ayesha Siddiqa is Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies at
King’s College, London. She is the author of Military Inc.
Source: Chinese Influence Is Growing In Pakistan’s Gwadar. No Access For Local
Baloch People
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/chinese-influence-pakistan-gwadar-baloch/d/132882
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