After nearly a month-long protest in the port city of Gwadar, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took notice of the ‘legitimate’ demands — 19 in all — and promised action against one — illegal fishing by trawlers.
Besides Gwadar, thousands of people, including civil rights activists, fishermen, children, and women from cities such as Turbat, Pishkan, Zamran, Buleda, Ormara, and Pasni in coastal Balochistan have been protesting at Y Chowk on Port Road for 28 days now.
A mesmerising drone footage of Friday's protest in Gwadar where ten of thousands of people marched for economical and political rights. The rally is considered one of the largest in Balochistan's history. pic.twitter.com/TXjmlJwFhp
— The Balochistan Post – English (@TBPEnglish) December 11, 2021
Many social activists have hailed Friday’s massive rally to be one of the ‘biggest’ protests in the history of Balochistan and voiced their concern and offered support.
“Yeh woh Gwadar hai jo aap nay nahi dekha hoga.” Biggest protest of people for basic facilities and their rights in #Gawadar. pic.twitter.com/dKRakRzf59
— Aima Khan (@aima_kh) December 11, 2021
I Absolutely Stand With The Baloch People of Gwadar. They want a ban on commercial fishing that is killing the livelihood of the local Baloch then it has to addressed.
I stand with the Baloch of Gwadar for the fishing rights.
Let’s all join hands. pic.twitter.com/qyji7NYOB3
— Mir Mohammad Alikhan (@MirMAKOfficial) December 11, 2021
This is why ppl of #Gwadar are on protest for many years but more recently protest & distress is increased due to #IllegalTrawling of 1000s of unregulated fishing trawlers using Genocidal nets whipping out entire marine resource leaving leaving hunger and poverty of #Baloch pic.twitter.com/wYggwRNykn
— Sana Ullah BALOCH, MPA (@Senator_Baloch) December 5, 2021
Contrary to the conservatism in Pakistan, women stepped out in record numbers.
This is not Syria neither Afghanistan.
This is Gwadar, occupied Balochistan.
The largest woman participation in rally, protest for their basic human rights. pic.twitter.com/8yKD8nm48G
— Fazila Baloch?☀️ (@IFazilaBaloch) December 6, 2021
Considering that the primary means of livelihood for residents of this region is fishing, the protesters demand the eviction of big fishing trawlers from the Makran coast and the permission for fishermen to freely go into the waters, according to Dawn.
The protest — Gwadar Ko Huqooq Do Tehreek (Give Rights to Gwadar Movement) — is being led by a local leader named Maulana Hidyat-ur-Rehman. The Jamaat-e-Islami leader—affiliated to the party that has traditionally been an ally to the Pakistan government—has been the face of the movement since its inception in the early weeks of November.
The agitation against the ‘trawler mafia’ is not a first by the fishermen of these coastal areas. The issue was first raised in June this year. Hundreds of agitators, including fishermen and members of civil society, had staged a protest against the Pakistani government’s grant of licences to Chinese fishing trawlers.
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Strangers in their own land
The protesters have also raised concerns regarding the flagship project of China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative — the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Speaking on news programme Zara Hat Kay, Rehman said that the residents of Gwadar had pinned their hopes on the government when work on the CPEC began, expecting it to transform their lives. Instead, “Not a single penny of the project was spent on Balochistan.”
According to Rehman, Balochistan Minister for Planning and Development Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi continued giving assurances to the people, but it seemed that the trawler mafia was more powerful than the provincial government.
The people have also been struggling with the lack of clean drinking water, poor access to electricity and gas. Despite all the promises of employment, the people were reduced to mere strangers in their own land.
Among other key demands was the handing over of authority to moderate the Pakistan-Iran border affairs to the district administration from the Frontier Corps. Rehman noted that the residents of Balochistan have a close association with Iran and have families and relatives living across the border, so imposing restrictions on their movement leads to their emotional breakdown.
Meanwhile, China has disassociated itself from the ongoing protests, saying that terming the agitation ‘anti-China’ is fake news. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made these comments at a press conference last month.
Protests in Pakistan's Gwadar district against China?
Fake news! pic.twitter.com/4zDdasPoTm
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) November 30, 2021
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)