By Shah Meer
The people of Balochistan are suspicious of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be a “win-win” proposition according to statements made by the leadership of Pakistan and China. But the project is raising eyebrows and fears among the Baloch people, the indigenous community of Gwadar and the entire province of Balochistan. At the heart of the project is the city of Gwadar on the southwestern coast of the Arabian Sea in Balochistan province. Under CPEC, China and Pakistan plan to build a route to connect Gwadar Port in Pakistan with Kashgar in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has vowed to build the deepest seaport in the world in Gwadar, while creating infrastructure, energy and transportation projects along the route, reasoning that the resultant prosperity and economic development would change the shape of the most backward of Pakistan’s provinces specifically, as well as the whole of Pakistan.
So why would the Baloch people at large fear prosperity and progress? Wouldn’t the investment of $46 billion from China improve the living standards of the long-impoverished Baloch people? Why are most of the nationalists, intellectuals, students and ordinary people of Balochistan feeling suspicious? To answer that it is necessary to look back on the long history of Pakistan’s neglect of Balochistan in favor of the more populous provinces that are home to the large urban centers. While Balochistan may contain the richest mineral resources, its people receive little of the income derived from those resources and are deprived of the education, medical care, and concern for environmental protection afforded the most-favored provinces.
As the CPEC project moves forward, the fog of fear grows thicker. The native Baloch are of the view that, under the banner of economic development and prosperity, CPEC might turn them into a minority within their own land. As the influx of settlers begin to move into Gwadar and Balochistan as a whole, the natives are being ignored when it comes to jobs and other opportunities. The sense of deprivation and disappointment within the community is strong. Add to this the ongoing trend of issuing fictitious Balochistan domiciles to refugees (and others) and the list of Baloch grievances continues to mount.
As one Baloch student from Gwadar reminded me, Karachi was once a Baloch-dominant region. It was even named aftera Baloch woman, Mahi Kulachi. But in the name of development and urbanization, the authorities gradually transformed the Baloch majority of Karachi into a minority. He now fears that it might be Gwadar’s turn, and that this time it might even entail all of Balochistan.
Read the full story at The Diplomat