This month has brought fresh air
from Balochsitan in terms of security and economic events. The least developed province of the country has witnessed some good but long awaited news. Firstly, Pakistan has announced its readiness to sign a 40-year-old contract with a Chinese company to develop a huge, special economic zone in the port city of Gwadar. The announcement was made by Pakistani officials on September 9, 2015. The economic zone is a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an ambitious $ 46 billion investment plan that is supposed to link western China to the Arabian Sea through the implementation of infrastructure, energy and transport projects. According to the chief of the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Dostain Khan Jamaldini, the contract, which assigns a 923 hectare (2,300 acres) swathe of tax-exempt land to the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), is likely to be signed during the current month or October this year.
According to the GPA chief, the work on Gwadar International Airport will start in the next couple of months and the completion of the national highway connecting Gwadar with the north within the next month. Likewise, Pakistan also announced that it is establishing a special security force of between 10,000 and 25,000 men to protect the port city, which lies in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan.
Secondly, Pakistani forces have killed a top insurgent leader in the resource-rich province of Balochistan where China is due to funnel much of the recently announced $ 46 billion investment package. According to the home minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, Allah Nazar, the chief of the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), is believed to have been killed in a raid by the security forces. Allah Nazar was considered the centre of gravity of the Balochistan insurgency. Thirdly, Brahamdagh Bugti has also shown his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Pakistani government. Likewise, more than 1,000 Baloch separatists have surrendered since the middle of August this year.
These promising victories are the repercussions of solid grass roots developments. Since 2013, the government has been laying special emphasis on the development of Balochistan. A number of projects are being undertaken with the help of the Pakistan army. The government is spending more than Rs 160 to 180 billion on mega projects. These mega projects include dams, highways, canals and ports. There are currently 10 federal government schemes or projects in the province that qualify as mega projects. These projects are directly related to the Gwadar port, costing around Rs 53 billion. The Gwadar related projects include, obviously, the Gwadar deep sea water port (Rs 15 billion), the coastal highway (Rs 15 billion), the Gwadar-Khuzdar Highway (Rs 16.6 billion) and possibly the Mirani Dam (Rs 5.9 billion).
In addition, the main road development, the Gwadar-Khuzdar Highway, and its extension to Ratodero will form an essential linkage to Punjab and upcountry. The coastal highway is being constructed in three phases: the first 248 kilometers will be from Lyari to Ormara, including the link to Ormara Town, the second 197 kilometers will be from Ormara to Pasni and the third 208 kilometers will be from Pasni to Gwadar to Jiwani near the Iran border. The total length of the coastal highway is 653 kilometers. The Gwadar-Khuzdar Highway of 651 kilometers consists of over four sections: Gwadar to Turbat (165 kilometers), Turbat to Hoshab (235 kilometers), Hoshab to Khuzdar (251 kilometers). There is an additional extension of 64 kilometers from Khuzdar to Ratodero. This road ultimately will be a link between Punjab and the Gwadar seaport.
These projects indicate that Pakistan is looking towards the CPEC project as a game changer, kick-starting an era of infrastructure growth and investment. Likewise, the military has vowed to crush the insurgency and has assured China of security for the planned CPEC from the Balochistan port of Gwadar up to the Chinese border in northern Pakistan. The land deal and improved security and political situation in Balochistan are interlinked with the prosperous future of the county.
The writer is a freelance columnist