Dr Ali Mohammad

After a long spell of bad news, the country welcomes the official opening of Gwadar port on December 21, 2008. Gwadar is one of the most important projects in the country. Situated on the helm of the Indian Ocean, it can control strategic supplies to and from the region. Moreover, the Indian Ocean is destined to be an important theatre for action during the next several decades as the major powers’ supply lines for energy and trade run through here. It is no accident that all nuclear powers send their submarines to patrol the Indian Ocean. From economic viewpoint, it is expected that increased trade activities at Gwadar port would increase business activities in Balochistan and would create job openings in many sectors. It is expected to become a hub of economic activity for the country and for the region.

Gwadar is situated on the coastal line of Makran, which extends in an east-west direction with a total length of over 600 km. The known history of Makran starts some three thousand years from the time of prophet Dawood (AS). The region was also under the reign of many powers – from Alexander the Great to Arabs Muslims, the Mughals, the Safavids, the British, the Buledais, and the Gichkis. In the late the eighteenth century, the Khans of Kalat transferred Gwadar to Muscat in perpetuity. Due to the great dedication of the Government of Pakistan, Gwadar was reverted back from Muscat to Pakistan in 1958. In 1977, Gwadar became one of the three districts of the Makran Division. Although in 1961 the government of Pakistan had realized Gwadar as a potential port, it was not until 2002 that the Gwadar Port Project was initiated.

In addition to security reasons, the other major objectives of this project were: (1) diversification of shipping potentials, (2) development of major industrial complexes, and (3) integration of this area with the rest of the country and our Northern neighbors, China, and the Central Asian Republics (CARs). Gwadar has great significance for Pakistan, China, Iran, and India. Firstly, for Pakistan, Gwadar has immense strategic potentials. The planned Gwadar naval base, along with the Jinnah naval base at Ormara, will serve as alternatives to the naval facilities at Karachi. In times of war, the facilities at Gwadar and Ormara prevent the risk of being blockaded by India as was witnessed in 1971. Moreover, when Gwadar port is fully developed, it will be the key shipping and mass trade venue to the CARs and China. Also, significant attention to transportation and communication projects in the country has a direct impact on local, regional, and national development. This project is expected to help develop many remote areas of Balochistan and integrate these areas with the rest of the country. More recently, the realization of a traffic glut at ports in the Persian Gulf has made it more imperative that Pakistan plays a useful role in facilitating the smooth flow of trade between the Gulf countries and the rest of the world. Its proximity to the Persian Gulf and its continued instability, and the emergence of the new CARs has given Gwadar an immense geo-strategic importance. As for the Chinese interests, Gwadar will provide it access to the blue Waters and along with the so called “String of Pearls” — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and the South China Sea — will meet China’s defense and energy needs.

From the start of this mega project, Pakistan received generous assistance from China, which assisted in the completion of the first phase of the Gwadar deep-sea port in 2004. China is also looking forward to developing an energy corridor including oil and gas development, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and associated storage facilities. To fulfill these objectives, she is assisting Pakistan develop strategic facilities at Gwadar port. China has recently allocated some fifty billion dollars under the vision Trade and Energy Corridor for construction of a Railway Line from Gwadar to Kashgar, road network, fiber optics, and gas and oil facilities. Gwadar is also significant to Iranian and Indian interests in the area. Iran is developing its Chahbahar port. India is helping Iran in building this port and over a 200-kilometer long road to connect Chahbahar with Afghanistan. India is eyeing this Iranian port as its own shortest route to Central Asian markets. India also perceives her involvement in Chahbahar to be a counter balance to Chinese influence in Gwadar and the region. Thus, for Pakistan, certainly history is in the making. Gwadar is set to become a hub of shipping, commercial and industrial activities. It is destined to be the most important upcoming coastal town located in proximity to the three most strategically and economically important regions of the world — the oil rich Middle east, the region where over 2.5 billion people live, and the CARs which are bestowed with abundant natural resources. The port also comes as a much-needed national requirement in the wake of the rise in cargo traffic at Karachi port, while the overall maritime traffic for Pakistan is expected to rise by 300 % by 2010.

Gwadar Pakistan’s largest infrastructure project where billions of dollars have already been invested and much more is in the pipeline for roads, railroads, a new international airport, power plants, a water desalination plant, and real estate development.

Gwadar is truly a gift to Pakistan and the world. It is now up to the present government to ensure the continuity of this very important project. However, we would like to warn the government of a few problems that have constrained Gwadar’s timely development. Firstly, there have been serious delays in the development of the port (the first phase was completed in seventy-two months as against an initial plan of one-half that time). Every effort must be made to ensure timely completion of projects as every delay costs the country billions of dollars. Secondly, the Pakistan Government must be cognizant of Indian and American games, which include playing on the sentiments of Balochi nationalism. Some Balochi people may be alienated and may be thinking that they have been left out of the benefits of their assets, but it is a problem that Pakistan can handle. It is hoped that the political leadership will make every effort to pacify feelings of alienation among Balochi people and make them feel that they are full partners in the development activities and receive full benefits such as job and income opportunities of this mega project. Thirdly, many people have shied away from investment in real estate and business ventures as the news of fraud and cheating have surfaced over the last ten years. This has not only cost huge losses to investors, but has also discouraged many more who could have brought a lot of investment in the area in commerce, agriculture, and industry. We welcome recent steps by the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) such as cancellation of permits of many illegal outfits and controlling issuance of NOCs. Similarly, development of economic and social infrastructure — marketing infrastructure, financial institutions, licensing facilities, and social services – should be ensured to encourage potential investors.

Lastly, at a time when successive governments postponed or cancelled previous government projects due to their selfish interests, we have seen examples where governments sometimes rise above such selfishness and forge ahead with projects of national interest. The nation is grateful that all the successive governments who supported the country’s nuclear and missile programs have enabled Pakistan to develop an effective deterrent against outside aggression. In a similar vein, the present government must recognize Gwadar’s geo-economic imperatives and it must be cognizant of serious opposition from some quarters who were never our real friends of Pakistan.

We urge the successive governments to continue to develop this critical national asset and implement all development schemes for the country with full commitment. Let us hope that Gwadar fulfills the dream of economic glory for the country.

pakobserver.net

The inauguration of Gwadar as a fully functioning sea port at a time when the national economy is in the process of contraction has dampened its importance as proved by the fact that the prime minister didn’t turn up for the opening ceremony on Sunday “because he had more important work to do”. But two ships from Qatar carrying fertiliser are almost docked and 21 more are expected in the coming quarter. And no one can deny its future significance as a part of Pakistan’s geopolitical strategy.

The chief minister of Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani, put on notice the first “objection” to the port’s management in his speech and reminded us of the past decades of bickering over the project. He said Gwadar was on the land of Balochistan and its economic aspects must benefit the Baloch above everyone else. This was in answer to the federal ports minister, Mr Nabil Gabol, who said the new port will “generate massive economic activities in the region”. The chief minister didn’t like the fact that labour in Gwadar was being “imported” from other provinces. He swore he would not allow the Baloch “majority” of Gwadar to be converted into a “minority”. And he referred to the Lahore Resolution of 1940 which had envisaged the provinces as “sovereign” entities.

When the construction of Gwadar began in 2002, objections to it were galore: that it was redundant because the existing ports had enough handling capacity for the next 20 years; that Gwadar was next to nowhere and without water and electricity and would need the construction of a coastal highway 600 km long. More “strategic” trouble came Pakistan’s way when China agreed to provide only $198 million of the $298 million needed for Phase One. Phase Two was estimated at $600 million.

The world, and the not too-happy neighbours, began to concentrate on other details: Gwadar would provide a stable and proximate point of access to the other Gulf ports and it would be just 250 miles from the Straits of Hormuz, through which nearly 40 percent of the world’s oil supplies flow; the port would be strategically located to serve as a key shipping point in the region; it would also provide the landlocked Central Asian republics, Afghanistan, and the Chinese Xinjiang region, with access to the Arabian Sea’s warm waters, etc.

The port was delayed for a number of reasons. It was supposed to open in 2005 and has come on line after three years of glitches and after the Baloch rebels had killed engineers there and generally rejected it. India, still posturing aggressively in the aftermath of the 2001 military face-off with Pakistan, said it was “carefully monitoring” the port and Chinese activity on the Makran coast together with Chinese activity on the Myanmar coast. Iran and America were also supposed to be “offended” by the idea of Gwadar serving as a Chinese “foot in the door” in a region they considered their strategic backyard. The Iran-Indian partnership had taken off and India was helping build Iran’s Chabahar port which they thought might be rivalled and eclipsed by Gwadar. But regional alignments have changed significantly since 2002 when the port aroused the hostile imagination of strategists around the world. Today the world is in a downward economic spiral and neighbours are busy tackling other problems of greater importance.

The Iran-India relationship has cooled as India has decided to move closer to America with a nuclear deal — the US Hyde Act requires “India’s cooperation against Iran” — and Iran has retaliated by revising upwards the price of its LNG exports to India after having signed on a price agreement. (Iran has since gone back on the price of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline gas too.) Gwadar had once also jeopardised the Iran-China equation that was motivated by a desire to oppose US “hegemony” at the global level, giving an opportunity to China to “forward buy” Iranian gasfields. But today that scenario too has changed as China moves to the centre of America’s attention as an important “indirect” supporter of the Iraq war. The Chinese-Indian equation too is no longer hostile, thanks to the growing volume of bilateral trade and China’s decision not to veto sanctions against Pakistan after the Mumbai attack last month.

Gwadar is not any more “strategy-neutral” than it was in 2002. Indeed, it can be everybody’s point of access to Central Asia and China’s western provinces. As a part of SAARC, Afghanistan needs a better trade outreach inside South Asia and Gwadar could be become an important conduit after Pakistan removes its mental cobwebs and decides to allow the trade routes that will bestow on it the geopolitical importance it doesn’t have now. That requires Pakistan to shift from the geo-”military” to the geo-”economic” way of thinking about itself. It is only after that that the world will come to its help in getting rid of its “non-state actors” and in becoming a great trading nation ordained by its physical positioning in the region.

dailytimes.com.pk