Will Gwadar Be Another Hong Kong For China?

The port city of Hong Kong has played a pivotal role in China's economic and trade expansion on the Chinese East Coast in the Pacific region. Meanwhile, China's Western region has remained relatively underdeveloped.

China's West Coast:

Is China looking to build and use Gwadar in Pakistan as Hong Kong West to accelerate development in its West? Will Gwadar serve as a superhighway for China's trade expansion in Middle East, Africa and Europe? A point to project Chinese economic and military might westward?

Unlike the continental United States which has coasts on both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans allowing it easy access to Europe and Asia, China has only one coast, its East Coast along South China Sea.

As the Americans look to Asia with the US Pivot to Asia and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Chinese are looking to expand westward with Central Asia as well as Africa, Europe and the Middle East with "One Road One Belt" initiative funded by Silk Road Fund and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Pakistan is a crucial partner in this strategy, particularly the development of Pakistan-China Corridor linking China's western region with Gwadar port on the Arabia Sea.



Gwadar Deep Sea Port:

The Chinese see Gwadar deep sea port and the town of Jiwani as Hong Kong West, a gateway to Middle East, Africa and Europe. It will be the most important link in China's Maritime Silk Route (MSR), a sort of superhighway to the West for Chinese trade.

Professor Juan Cole of University of Michigan has aptly described the Chinese strategy as follows:

China’s enormous northwest is much closer to the Arabian Sea than to the port of Shanghai. It is about 2800 km. from Urumqi (pop. 4 million, the size of Los Angeles inside city limits) to Karachi, but twice as far to Shanghai. China has decided to develop its northwest by turning Pakistan into a sort of Hong Kong West. Hong Kong played, and perhaps still plays an important role as a gateway for certain kinds of foreign investment into China. In the same way, Pakistan can be a window on the world and a conduit for oil and trade into northwestern cities such as Urumqi and the smaller Kashgar (pop. 1 mn.)

In addition to a major expansion of the deep sea port,  there are plans in place for building a modern city with several skyscrapers, an international airport, highways and industrial parks in Gwadar, Balochistan. There will be air, road and rail links to move people and freight to and from around the world. Oil and gas pipelines are planned to transport energy as well. When completed, it will be comparable to major international port cities of Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Baloch Insurgency:

Baloch insuegency is cited as  a key threat to the implementation of the China-Pakistan Corridor in Pakistan. What is often not acknowledged by analysts is the fact that the Baloch insurgency is dying. It's a fact that has recently been described in some detail by Malik Siraj Akbar who is sympathetic to the Baloch separatist cause. Here's what Akbar wrote in December 2014 in a piece titled "The End of Pakistan's Baloch Insurgency?":

"Since its beginning in 2004, the Pakistan's Baloch insurgency is caught up in the worst infighting ever known to the general public. Different left-wing underground armed groups that had been fighting Islamabad for a free Baloch homeland have now started to attack each other's camps......Frustration, suspicion, infighting and division are the common features of the end of a guerrilla fight. Perhaps that time has come in Balochistan. "

Language Map of Balochistan


The announcement of the Pak-China deal seems to have re-energized those who seek to hurt Pakistan. They are now trying to resuscitate the dying Baloch insurgency. Western media has widely publicized an interview of Bramdagh Bugti who is running the insurgency from the comfort of a Swiss hotel room.  In addition, Pakistan's western-funded NGOs are being used to play up the Baloch insurgency in the media with events like "Un-Silencing Balochistan" event and by blaming the ISI for the murder of Karachi activist Sabeen Mahmud.

Summary:

The China-Pak Corridor deal could prove to be transformational for Pakistan's economy, prosperity and rising living standards of its nearly 200 million people. As development work moves forward for Gwadar and China-Pakistan Corridor, I fully expect several hostile nations, including neighboring India, to use their proxies on the ground in Balochistan and some members of the "civil society" made up of some foreign-funded NGOs in Pakistan to make progress as difficult as possible. There will be serious efforts by many to resuscitate the dying Baloch insurgency. Pakistani people and both civil and military leaders need to be prepared to deal with these hurdles.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Who Killed Sabeen Mahmud? Why?

Xi Jinping in Pakistan

Pak-China Industrial Corridor

American Hypocrisy on Dr. Afridi's Sentence

Post Cold War World: Pakistan-China-Russia Vs India-US-Japan

How Strategic Are China-Pakistan Ties?

Alaska Permanent Fund: A Model For Balochistan?

Has Modi Stepped Up India's Covert War in Pakistan?

Serious Issues Undermining Baloch Insurgency

Comments

Riaz Haq said…
Recent pictures of the Chinese President Xi Jinping's aircraft being escorted by eight made-in-China Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter jets as it entered the Pakistani airspace reflect the expanding relationship of the two countries. On his two-day visit to Islamabad in April, Xi committed $46 billion of investments in Pakistan. This is roughly three times the foreign direct investment Pakistan has received in the last decade. This is also more than the $31 billion Pakistan got in US aid since 2002, according to the US-based Congressional Research Service. Clearly, Xi's visit has larger geopolitical ramifications. And for India, it could be a cause for concern.
The investment would go into building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. This would include a road connecting Gwadar port in Balochistan with Kashgar in Xinjiang province of China via Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The 3,000-km corridor would have industrial parks and 10.4 GW of power projects worth $15.5 billion. China is already upgrading the 1,300-km Karakoram Highway despite Indian opposition. The highway, being built by state-owned China Road & Bridge Corporation, is expected to be ready by September this year. China's help in developing infrastructure in the disputed part of Kashmir is seen as its support to Pakistan's claim on this region.


Another reason to worry for India is that China has the rights to operate the Gwadar port, which increases Beijing's influence in the Arabian Sea. The new road and the Gwadar port would help China boost trade with Europe, West Asia and Africa. This will also give China easier access to West Asian oil, especially from Iran. China is one of the biggest consumers of Iranian oil and this route would help it transport oil before it completes a pipeline from Gwadar to Kashgar. Beijing is also helping Islamabad complete the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline at a cost of $2 billion.
The growing engagement between China and Pakistan may prove to be a stumbling block for India's ambitious plans to boost ties with Afghanistan and Iran. India had committed $100 million to develop the Chabahar port in Iran, but the project is stuck. The port is important for India to access Afghanistan by bypassing Pakistan. Islamabad has already rejected New Delhi's proposal on the SAARC motor vehicle pact that would have allowed seamless transit to vehicles from South Asian countries. Pakistan's refusal makes it impossible for Indian transporters to use the land route to Afghanistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 28, told the visiting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that India was ready to receive Afghan trucks at the Integrated Check Post at Attari, on the India-Pakistan border. But that won't be enough.
Meanwhile, the infrastructure projects Chinese companies are executing in Pakistan will allow free movement to vehicles of the two countries. And while China's relations with India are also improving - Xi visited India in September last year and Modi is heading to China in May - New Delhi will still be wary of Beijing's growing clout in the region.

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/china-investments-in-pakistan-rising-headache-for-india/1/218868.html
Riaz Haq said…
Hundreds Protest After Gunmen, suspected to be #India-backed #Baloch, Target Ethnic #Pashtuns in Southern #Pakistan http://nyti.ms/1BxeUyh

Here's NY Times on Mastung attack in Balochistan that targeted and killed Pashtuns:

The attack took place in Mastung, about 40 miles southeast of Quetta. The buses had been on their way to Karachi, the southern port city in neighboring Sindh Province.

One of the two buses was carrying passengers from Chaman, a Pakistani town on the border with Afghanistan.

Before Friday’s shootings of the Pashtuns, militants from banned sectarian groups used to target buses of Shiite pilgrims, mostly in Mastung District, forcing them to also give up road travel in the province.

While attacks on Pashtuns in Baluchistan have occurred in the past, killing them after stopping buses and checking identity cards for their ethnicity is a new development.

A Pashtun lawmaker from the province, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retribution, said that the attack was aimed at disrupting a planned economic corridor through the province that would offer China easier sea access. The $46 billion worth of energy and infrastructure projects, pledged last month by China, center on a network of rail and road and pipeline projects.

The lawmaker said that on Thursday, during a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, representatives of all political parties had reached a consensus about the project as the government tries to calm suspicions that some regions would be left out of the project and that Punjab Province, the political base of Mr. Sharif, would be the only beneficiary of the increased economic activity with China.

Security officials say a search is being carried out by 200 troops across Mastung District.

Later, Mr. Sharif said he was concerned about the involvement of “foreign intelligence agencies” in destabilizing Pakistan.

Pakistani officials accuse India of supporting terrorism inside the country, and in recent months, Pakistan’s top civil and military leaders have accused India of backing separatists in Baluchistan. India has denied involvement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/world/asia/hundreds-protest-after-gunmen-target-ethnic-pashtuns-in-southern-pakistan.html?_r=0
Riaz Haq said…
Naturally, this treaty (China-Pak economic corridor or CPEC) has turned a lot of heads. And no country is more obsessed with Pakistan than India. India’s paranoia and lunacy-inducing obsession with Pakistan has found a new face under Mr Narendra Modi’s leadership. This obsession is not mutual. Our prime minister or leaders of the second and third largest party did not feel the urge to make remarks about India in their election campaigns. Our federal ministers and advisors have not, until very recently, commented on Indian Research and Analyses Wing’s (RAW) involvement in covert activities within our borders, as opposed to India blaming everything from a bombing to their prime minister’s bowel movement on our Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for years.

Modi is very open about his nationalism and Hindu fanaticism, his security advisor is very blunt about his intentions towards Pakistan. Under Modi, India seems to have done away with subtleties and is now openly expressing its designs to further weaken Pakistan by all means necessary. Modi, behaving typically like a jealous toddler, has termed CPEC as “unacceptable” for India. He did so in his incredibly awkward, over-excited, selfie-inclusive, posing and proposing visit to China, but the Chinese president snubbed his unsolicited opinion like any prudent adult would snub the tantrum of a spoilt toddler.

Modi has now repeated his unsolicited opinion through one of his ministers.

It appears that Modi’s cabinet deliberated in length over its stance on CPEC. Of course, it was pre-decided that they would oppose it, but on what grounds? They couldn’t just say “because we say so” or “because we don’t want Pakistan to prosper”. Honest as these statements would be, they just wouldn’t be diplomatically correct. So the geniuses came with the stance that CPEC passes through Pakistan-held Kashmir, and since Kashmir is disputed, we cannot accept CPEC.

And they now wait, hoping this ludicrous stance would find an international audience. If you want to find Indian-supported local opponents to CPEC in Pakistan, look for an equally insane stance; some Baloch nationalists have spoken against CPEC on grounds that since it would bring heavy investment and development to the region, there will be consequent migrations from different parts of Pakistan, hence rights of Gwadar locals may be infringed.

India would not stop here though. China has already warned Pakistan of RAW’s intentions of sabotaging CPEC with help from local militants. Pakistan has only recently broken its decade’s old silence on RAW and India’s involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. India is, undoubtedly, our bitter rival.

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/27940/indias-unhealthy-obsession-with-china-pakistan-economic-corridor/
Riaz Haq said…
Here's a piece from Express Tribune on Gwadar and Makran which fails to mention the fact that Pakistan purchased Makran coast, including Gwadar, from Oman in 1958; it wasn't just "transferred" to Pakistan as this piece claims:


People of the Bronze Age once occupied the Makran region surrounding Gwadar. The Greeks coined a name for Makran, when Alexander’s army passing through it, derived it from the Persian phrase Mahi Khoran meaning ‘fish-eaters’. Since there is no ‘kh’ sound in the Balochi language, it came to be called Makran. After the collapse of Alexander’s empire, the region continued to be ruled by one of his generals. This explains why the residents of Ganz, a shanty fishing village between Gwadar and Jiwani, have Caucasian looks. Mohammad bin Qasim captured Gwadar in 711AD. In 1783, the Khan of Kalat granted Gwadar to the defeated ruler of Muscat, Taimur Sultan. The area was transferred (Fact: Purchased by Pakistan) to Pakistan in 1958. Although inhabited by a small community of fishermen, Gwadar has historically been considered important due to its strategic location.

Balochistan, in general, is confronted with threats from the Taliban, separatist insurgents, and India, all of whom have attempted to impede the development of Gwadar and the economic corridor. Furthermore, the US is closely watching Chinese developments at Gwadar, which can potentially give China access and control over the mouth of the Strait of Hurmuz from where about 80 per cent of fossil fuels are transported. In addition, we should also look at the impact that lifting of sanctions on Iran, given the nuclear deal, and improvement in Iran-US ties will have on our region. Iran has strained relations with Pakistan, with cross-border movement restricted intermittently. Furthermore, India is developing a naval base at Chabahar that may at some point in the future also dock US aircraft carriers if relations between Iran and the US continue to improve. The strategic alignment between the US and India could create obstructions to the development of Gwadar.

The Pakistani government seems to have no specific plan for the people of Gwadar, thus allowing for their marginalisation, like the Native Americans were in North America. The beneficiaries of the development work in Gwadar will by no means be the indigenous people. The deprivation of the locals has already started, with the clearing and forwarding of ships being assigned to companies other than those from Gwadar and nobody to listen to the hue and cry of the local clearing agents.

The Balochistan government is doing absolutely nothing to prepare its youth for availing the job opportunities that will come up in the near future in Gwadar. The technical training centres once produced highly trained and technical hands when they were under German management. Now, they are dysfunctional. It is up to the provincial government to press upon the Chinese government to send youth from the Gwadar-Makran area on scholarships and vocational training to China.

Due to retardation in economic activity, local people are jobless with no source of income and with the provincial government enjoying little writ, there is an emergence of locals finding new alternatives, detrimental to a peaceful environment and society. Jobless men are baited, given false promises by foreign forces and used as pawns in a game of chess and then abandoned. The people trapped by these foreign forces foolishly think that their backers will help them get their rights. These people often fall into the trap set by foreign forces because of their circumstances. For example, the residents of the Mirani Dam area have been forcefully evicted without any proper rehabilitation plan by the government. The federal government should act with the same agility for these people as it did for the Nepal earthquake victims. Foreign countries claiming to be custodians of human rights are maintaining an absolute lull over this crucial issue. ...

http://tribune.com.pk/story/931047/a-plan-for-gwadar/
Riaz Haq said…
Excerpts of "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Towards a New ‘Heartland’?"

By Omar Alam

China’s Pivot to Pakistan

In order to comprehend China’s recent efforts to bolster its relations with Pakistan, one must first understand the intricate interplay between the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of closer ties between the two Asian nations, as exemplified by the gargantuan CPEC project. Close relations between the two countries are nothing new. However, what has qualitatively enhanced the relationship is the changing geopolitical context. With the drawdown of Western – and particularly, the United States’ – presence in Afghanistan, China seized the opportunity presented by the power vacuum to expand its regional sphere of influence and further its economic and strategic interests in Pakistan.

Laying the Foundations: Sino-Pakistani Agreements

The geostrategic significance of CPEC is heightened by earlier Sino-Pakistani agreements. Firstly, China has been granted 40-year operational control of the port of Gwadar on the Indian Ocean, strategically positioned close to the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. This will enable China to monitor its critical sea lines of communication, as 60 per cent of its crude oil imports pass through West Asia.

Once CPEC is completed and the port is fully operational, China will be able to ensure that a large share of its oil needs are secured via Gwadar, saving time and billions in costs. More importantly, the new route would circumvent the potentially vulnerable Strait of Malacca. This is all the more significant given the United States’ growing presence in the South China Sea, where it is seeking to expand its influence as part of its pivot to Asia. Thus, bypassing the Strait of Malacca would present China with the option to avoid potential confrontation with the US and diminish the strategic value of the United States’ navy – all while monitoring US naval activities 460 kilometers west of Karachi and still keeping a safe distance from Indian navy bases. Significantly, while Gwadar is being developed as a commercial port for civilian use, it could potentially be transformed into a military facility for China’s navy.

Another factor of relevance is Pakistan’s pledge to purchase eight Chinese diesel-powered attack submarines, in what analysts have referred to as China’s largest defence deal to date. In addition to entrenching China’s role as Pakistan’s foremost arms provider, the submarine fleet could potentially counter Indian attempts to blockade Pakistani ports on the Indian Ocean.

India’s Conundrum

Despite CPEC’s significant strategic implications for the country, India is yet to comprehensively articulate its stance vis-à-vis the economic corridor. CPEC is projected to cross Gilgit-Baltistan, part of the disputed territory of Kashmir, causing significant concern to India. Similarly, the prospect that Gwadar may one day become a Chinese naval base troubles New Delhi. Despite the fact that CPEC heightens the threat that the Sino-Pakistani partnership poses to India’s regional standing, there are signs of growing Sino-Indian economic interdependence. For instance, this is testified by a steady increase in bilateral trade, as well as China’s pledge to invest almost $20 billion USD in Indian infrastructure development projects. Indeed, CPEC is set to bolster economic relations in the region, potentially benefiting Indian trade and development as well. What is certain is that India cannot sit on the fence much longer, and ought to formulate a clear position regarding CPEC.




http://isnblog.ethz.ch/international-relations/china-pakistan-economic-corridor-towards-a-new-heartland
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan's resource-rich territorial waters, as big as 30% of nation's landmass, being neglected by #Islamabad. http://tribune.com.pk/story/1030431/still-waters-pakistans-coastline-of-apathy/ …
Pakistan’s maritime zone is approximately 30% of its land mass – a region bigger than Punjab. Yet, the resource-rich marine remains a victim of abject apathy.

Special marine battalion to protect Gwadar Port, Chinese engineers

Last year in March, 50,000 square kilometres of continental shelf was added to the country’s existing 240,000 square kilometres after its claim was accepted by the United Nation’s Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf. As a result, Pakistan gained exclusive rights over the seabed and subsoil resources spread over 290,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean. The country’s sea limit was also extended from the existing 200 to 350 nautical miles.

Lack of awareness about the importance of maritime, however, meant that barely anyone noticed this significant development achieved through tedious diplomatic efforts. Let alone exploiting subsoil resources, Pakistan has also failed to explore the full potential of seafood exports. An official study claims Pakistan’s coastal area produces more than 625,000 tonnes of fish, out of which only 131,000 tonnes is exported. If fully materialised, the exports can fetch an additional $2 billion. Moreover, according to WWF-P, approximately 1,000 species of fish and 12 species of cetacean, or marine mammals, are found in Pakistan’s waters.

There are over 30,000 fishermen in Pakistan, with another 700,000 people associated with the trade. Many use trawlers and small nets to catch fish, a practice considered harmful for marine life. Unsustainable practices in fishing, destructive gear, uncontrolled fleet size, and poorly-planned development are other factors leading to untapped potential.

Fighting fit: A place of hope and healing

The developed coastal areas of Karachi and Port Qasim are facing an even graver threat. The sea there is being used a dumping ground for sewage and solid waste, resulting in heavy pollution at Karachi Harbour, Gharo and Phitti Creek.

Call of the deep blue

The sea is Pakistan’s lifeline for trade. More than 90% of the country’s trade with other countries along with all its oil imports are routed through the sea. By 2020, it is estimated that the volume of this trade will reach a staggering $100 billion. There is, however, a snag. Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, which is the national flag carrier, has only nine vessels, of which four are oil tankers. As a result, the country pays more than $4.5 billion to foreign freight carriers every year. In fact, having only four oil tankers of its own puts Pakistan in a vulnerable position, one an enemy state can easily exploit in the event of a conflict.

Pakistan has had a shipyard since 1954. The shipping industry, however, has remained in disarray, with little heed paid to its upkeep. Fortunately, the government seems to be stirring from its slumber and is now in the process of reviving it. After the catastrophic oil spill in Karachi by the MV Tasman Spirit in 2003, an urgent need was felt for the formulation of a comprehensive anti-pollution plan.

Special operations: Pakistan, Bahrain hold joint naval drill

Subsequently, a comprehensive National Marine Disaster Contingency Plan (NMDCP) was prepared to deal with all marine disasters, including oil spills, search and rescue, and salvage operations. The execution of NMDCP was ordered by the chairman of the Pakistan Marine Disaster Management Board, which is headed by the Chief of Naval Staff.
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan's #Gwadar port to handle 1 million tons cargo in 2017. Plans 300-400 million tons in future. #CPEC #China http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/expanded-chinese-operated-pakistani-port-on-46-billion-economic-corridor-almost-ready/


Reuters on Gwadar Port:


“We’re expecting at least one million tons of material will go in and out” next year, Zhang said, speaking at a day-long conference in Gwadar city.
The projected traffic represents a 100 percent increase over this year’s throughput, but is a far cry from the 300-400 million tons per year that the Gwadar Port Authority envisions for the facility, which has ambitions of becoming a regional hub.
Zhang acknowledged that Gwadar now had minuscule traffic – mostly Pakistani government-subsidised fertilizer imports – but he predicted a swift transformation in coming years.
Part of the problem is that the new roads that CPEC is expected to build, linking the port to China’s industrial zones, have not yet come online and the Pakistani province of Baluchistan does not have enough export-ready products.
“Even if you have a very good port, (if) you don’t have an inland transporting system and the economy in the near area is not very positive, the port will not be fully utilised,” he said.
He added that his company planned to develop seafood processing plants and other facilities in a 923 hectare free zone outside the port.

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/expanded-chinese-operated-pakistani-port-on-46-billion-economic-corridor-almost-ready/
Riaz Haq said…
#India's Answer To #China-#Pakistan #CPEC & #Gwadar Is #Chabahar Port In #Iran. India-Iran agree to fast-track it
http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/chabahar-port-in-iran-indias-key-to-central-asia-on-fast-track-10-developments-1396599

NEW DELHI: India and Iran agreed to fast-track the Chabahar port project that will open up access to central Asia, as Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj held talks during her first visit to the country on Sunday.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
The two countries decided in 2003 to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, near Iran's border with Pakistan.
The port in southeast Iran will allow India to bypass Pakistan to transport goods to Afghanistan and central Asia using a sea-land route.
Pakistan does not allow India to send goods through its territory to Afghanistan and has only recently begun to allow a trickle of Afghan exports to cross through to India.
The Chabahar project moved slowly because of the sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme, which have now been removed.
The two countries maintained a close relationship despite the US-led trade restrictions that halved their oil trade to 220,000 barrels per day in 2014.
India wants to develop the port as a counter to Pakistan's Gwadar port, which was built with Chinese assistance and is 72 km from Chabahar.
In February, the government cleared a 150 million dollar line of credit and the formation of a company in Iran to handle the project.
Sushma Swaraj, on a four-day tour of Iran and Russia, yesterday met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and said in a statement that he had spoken of Chabahar as a defining partnership which has the potential of connecting the entire region.
Chabahar is the first foreign port that India is directly involved in developing; it has the capacity to handle 2.5 million tonnes a year.
Chabahar is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iranian government. Due to its free trade zone status, the city has increased in significance in international trade.
Riaz Haq said…
#India's #Modi visits #Iran to woo #Teheran. New era in bilateral ties - or a missed opportunity? #Chabahar #Gwadar http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36329915

With the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorating, India is also looking to find various ways to maintain its foothold in the war-torn nation to counter Pakistani influence. With the land route to Afghanistan through Pakistan unavailable, it's looking at Iran to trade with Afghanistan.
India is investing more than $150m to develop Chabahar port in south-eastern Iran. It hopes the port will give a transit route to Afghanistan.
In the future, it also wants to bring gas from Central Asia and then transport it to India. The project will also give sea access to Afghanistan.
-----

"From India's perspective, Chabahar port is a gateway to Afghanistan. From Chabahar there is a road which goes all the way to Afghanistan and it will link up with a road which India has already built inside Afghanistan. In a way, India is ensuring that there could be no exit strategy from Afghanistan," says Mr Roy-Chaudhury.
Mr Modi plans to visit Kabul in June and he is expected to sign a trilateral trade agreement with Iran and Afghanistan for Chabahar port.

During his meeting with the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, Mr Modi would want to assure that India is keen to establish deeper and long-standing ties.
But Iranians may be a bit wary given their past experience.
------
India is home to the world's second highest Shia population, next only to Iran. Iran's influence over an estimated 45 million Shias in India is regarded as significant. With Iran emerging after international sanctions, it offers great investment opportunities to Indian companies.
But the bilateral ties suffered setbacks following international sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme. As successive Indian governments moved closer to the US, their Iran policy took a back seat, much to the displeasure of the Iranians.
Iranians were dismayed when India voted against their country at a vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2009. Then India significantly reduced oil imports from Tehran following US pressure.
"That was a bitter lesson for the Iranians. They understood that India would not take Iran's side on any dispute and India would not sacrifice its relations with the US and the West for Iran," says Fatemeh Aman, an Iran-South Asia affairs analyst based in the US.
During his first two years at office, Mr Modi focused more on India's immediate neighbourhood and Indian Ocean rim countries. Relations with the United States and the west were given a priority.

----

When the international sanctions were in place, India could not pay for the oil it had imported from Iran. It still owes $6.5bn in unpaid dues and Delhi is still finding a way to facilitate the payment.
Western banks are still reluctant to do business with Iran when some of the US sanctions are still in place.
India is aware that China is making inroads into Iran to rebuild the economy devastated by the sanctions. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, visited Iran in January this year to firm up business ties. Beijing is already Iran's largest trading partner.
Riaz Haq said…
#Land rush around #Pakistan's #Gwadar port triggered by #Chinese investment | Reuters #CPEC

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKBN16215Q
Pakistani real estate giant Rafi Group made a ten-fold profit last year from its sale of hundreds of acres of land in the remote fishing town of Gwadar, acquired soon after the government announced plans for a deep-sea port there.

The windfall came after 12 years of waiting patiently for the Gwadar port to emerge as the centrepiece of China's ambitious plans for a trade and energy corridor stretching from the Persian Gulf, across Pakistan, into western Xinjiang.

"We had anticipated the Chinese would need a route to the Arabian Sea," Rafi Group Chief Executive Shehriar Rafi told Reuters. "And today, all routes lead back to Gwadar."

Gwadar forms the southern Pakistan hub of a $57-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of infrastructure and energy projects Beijing announced in 2014.

Since then, land prices have skyrocketed as property demand has spiked, and dozens of real estate firms want to cash in.

"Gwadar is a 'Made in China' brand and everyone wants a piece," said realtor Afzal Adil, one of several who shifted operations from the eastern city of Lahore in 2015.

Last year, Pakistan welcomed the first large shipment of Chinese goods at Gwadar, where the China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd took over operations in 2013. It plans to eventually handle 300 million to 400 million tons of cargo a year.

It also aims to develop seafood processing plants in a nearby free trade zone sprawled over 923 hectares (2,281 acres).

The route through Gwadar offers China its shortest path to the oil-rich Middle East, Africa, and most of the Western hemisphere, besides promising to open up remote, landlocked Xinjiang.

Last year, the Applied Economics Research Centre estimated the corridor would create 700,000 jobs in Pakistan and a Chinese newspaper recently put the number at more than 2 million.

Authorities have completed an expressway through Gwadar, which has a 350-km (218-mile) road network. A new international airport kicks off next year, to handle an influx of hundreds of Chinese traders and officials expected to live near the port.

The volume of Gwadar property searches surged 14-fold on Pakistan's largest real estate database, Zameen.com, between 2014 and 2016, up from a prior rate of a few hundred a month.

"It's like a gold rush," said Chief Executive Zeeshan Ali Khan. "Anyone who is interested in real estate, be it an investor or a developer, is eyeing Gwadar."

Prices, which have risen two- to four-fold on average, are climbing "on a weekly basis," said Saad Arshed, the Pakistan managing director of online real estate marketplace Lamudi.pk.

Regional fishermen have held strikes during the last two years, to protest against being displaced by the port.

To keep pace with the interest, urban officials are struggling to computerise land management and record-keeping. "We are trying to upgrade as fast as we can," said Zakir Majeed, an official of the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA).

But Gwadar lacks basic education and health facilities, in contrast to the gleaming towers and piped drinking water of the "smart city" envisioned by the GDA.

"For commercial projects, things are moving fast," Lamudi's Arshed said. "But people actually living there, that will take a long time."

Port officials expect the population to hit 2 million over the next two decades, from about 185,000 now.
Riaz Haq said…
Karachi port is the world's 4th busiest trans shipment port in the world, after Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_transshipment_ports
Riaz Haq said…
India shouldn’t drag China into dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir: Expert

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/india-shouldn-t-drag-china-into-dispute-with-pakistan-over-kashmir-expert/story-r03UI9SKyLs4nBIwfbjXEL.html

China needs to have access to ports such as Gwadar in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to move its huge shipments of cargo to other parts of the world, said Wang Zhan, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament, and president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

“I know India has lot of disagreements with the CPEC to Gwadar port. But if you are Chinese, considering (the situation in) Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, you would be looking for alternative passageways. We have so much cargo, we surely need the ports. We have to pass by the Indian Ocean to reach Europe,” he said.

Speaking exclusively to Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the just-concluded NPC session, Wang said: “I know India and Pakistan have a dispute over (Kashmir.) If we go through the Kashmir area, which belongs to India, its a problem of sovereignty (for India) but now Pakistan has the right of administration (over PoK). So, it’s a problem between India and Pakistan and doesn’t relate to China.”

Wang, who is also managing director of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said China wasn’t the first country to bring up the Silk Road plan to connect regions and continents.

“Japan brought up the Silk Road in 1990s, an American Harvard professor brought it up in 2005, and Hillary Clinton brought it up in 2011. They all brought up the Silk Road concept earlier than China,” he said, adding some proposals were north to south and China’s east to west.

“If all the projects in these plans could be realised, the countries touched in the plans would definitely develop, and the economic development would decrease the element of war and chaos,” he added.

Wang said China’s increasing investments in infrastructure, such as ports, in South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka is purely for economic reasons.

“For sure it’s for economic reasons. You can know the answer by the map. India is a peninsula, the trade between Europe and China have to pass by the sea near India and Sri Lanka. It’s decided by geography. We can’t go by Antarctica. If you think from China’s view, you will do the same,” he said.

Referring to China’s objections to India drilling for oil in the South China Sea, Wang blamed Vietnam for the confusion.

“In the 1970s, the Vietnamese had completely agreed that South China Sea belongs to China. Later, they occupied 29 islands and built infrastructure. India drilled for oil in the same area, so we protested. The South China Sea is China’s lifeline. It’s not necessary for India to get involved in the South China Sea disputes,” Wang said.
Riaz Haq said…
363 Km long Kachhi Canal bringing #water from #Punjab to #Balochistan ready https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/08/12/kachhi-canal-to-be-c … ompleted-this-month/ via @epakistantoday

QUETTA: After a delay of more than a decade, the construction of Kachhi Canal project will finally be completed by the third week of August followed by filling of water to test the main canal and its structures.

The formal commissioning of Kachhi Canal is scheduled by the end of August with the release of water into the distribution system for irrigation of 7, 2000 acres of virgin land in district Dera Bugti of Balochistan.

This was briefed by the project authorities in a meeting presided over by Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lieutenant General (retired) Muzammil Hussain on Saturday. The meeting was held to review progress on the project.

Speaking on the occasion, Lieutenant General (retired)) Muzammil Hussain said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that Kachhi Canal, work on which started 15 years ago, was almost an abandoned project owing to certain reasons; gross cost overrun and long delays being the major contributing factors.

However, the project was revitalised due to active support of the incumbent federal government and commitment of WAPDA team, the engineers in particular. It is indeed heartening to note that the project is finally going to see the light of the day after a long period of 15 years, the chairman added.

It is worth mentioning that Kachhi Canal project is of immense importance for the development of water infrastructure and irrigated agriculture in Balochistan. The project is being completed with a cost of about Rs 80 billion.

The 363-kilometre long main canal (out of which 351-kilometre is lined canal) takes off from Taunsa Barrage in district Muzaffargarh of Punjab and ends at district Dera Bugti in Balochistan. The discharge capacity of the main canal is 6,000 cusecs. As many as 914 structures have been constructed at or over the main canal, including head and cross regulators, road and railways bridges, cross drainage and escape structures and watercourse crossings etc.
Riaz Haq said…
Development firm announce plans for first master community development for private market

"We believe Gwadar is following in the footsteps of Shenzen which represented a historic population rise, from a population of 30,000 in 1980 to 11 million people in 2017. Gwadar is poised to see massive population growth due to incoming industries, and we expect this to be one of the most strategic cities in South Asia."

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/china-pak-investments-acquires-project-in-gwadar-pakistan-648608313.html

Leading private investment house China Pak Investment Corporation today announced its acquisition of the 3.6 million square foot International Port City project in the city of Gwadar. The investment company is currently revising the scheme's plans in line with international developments standards and will be developing the first of its kind $150 million gated master community tailor-made for the expected 500,000 incoming Chinese professionals expected in Gwadar by 2022.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/564249/China_Pak_Hills_Phase_1.jpg )
The project which is expected to be renamed China Pak Hills hails an exciting new phase in the development of the port of Gwadar, the 'Gateway City' to the $62 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the largest unilateral foreign direct investment from one nation into another. The CPEC is set to catapult Pakistan's stature as a key global trade and economic hub and includes a bouquet of projects currently under construction that will not only improve Pakistan's infrastructure, but will deepen the economic and political ties between China and Pakistan.

Hao-Yeh Chang, Corporate Communications Director for China Pak Investments Corporation commented, "We believe Gwadar is following in the footsteps of Shenzen which represented a historic population rise, from a population of 30,000 in 1980 to 11 million people in 2017. Gwadar is poised to see massive population growth due to incoming industries, and we expect this to be one of the most strategic cities in South Asia."

The final master plan for China Pak Hills is currently being refined in Hong Kong, and will feature a range of state-of-the-art amenities including an open-air shopping boulevard; indoor shopping mall; restaurants and eateries; an international school & nursery; six community parks; indoor and outdoor sports facilities including tennis courts and a resident's gymnasium; a water desalination plant and recycling centre. China Pak Hills will also be home to the Gwadar Financial District, catering to the growing financial sector and adding much needed A Grade office space to Gwadar's growing market.

One Investments Ltd, a UK-based property investment company, headed by Zeeshan Shah, have been appointed as Global Master - Agent for the Development. "China Pak Hills is a unique and exciting opportunity. The level of investment and commitment made by the Chinese government in the CPEC guarantees that Gwadar is going to be one of the most important trading and access points in the World. Its geographic position, combined with the infrastructure being created through the CPEC means that it can only grow exponentially."

The China Pak Hills master-community is being developed by China Pak Investments and is soon expected to announce options for private sale of limited plots to end purchasers.
Riaz Haq said…
Hoping to extend maritime reach, #China is lavishing vast amounts of aid on a small #Pakistani fishing town of #Gwadar to win over locals and build a commercial deep-water port that #America and #India suspect may also one day serve Chinese navy. #CPEC

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-pakistan-insight/hoping-to-extend-maritime-reach-china-lavishes-aid-on-pakistan-town-idUSKBN1EB00J

There are early signs China’s efforts to win hearts and minds are beginning to bear fruit in Gwadar.

“Baluchistan is backward and underdeveloped, but we are seeing development after China’s arrival,” said Salam Dashti, 45, a grocer whose two children attend the new Chinese-built primary school.

But there are major pitfalls ahead.

Tens of thousands of people living by the port will have to be relocated.

For now, they live in cramped single-story concrete houses corroded by sea water on a narrow peninsula, where barefoot fishermen offload their catch on newly-paved roads strewn with rubbish. Many of the fishermen say they fear they’ll lose their livelihoods once the port starts operating.

Indigenous residents’ fear of becoming a minority is inevitable with Gwadar’s population expected to jump more than 15-fold in coming decades. On the edge of town, mansions erected by land speculators are popping up alongside the sand dunes.

Analysts say China is aware that previous efforts to develop Gwadar port failed partly due to the security threat posed by Baloch separatists, so Beijing is trying to counter the insurgents’ narrative that China wants to exploit Baluchistan.

“That weighs heavily on the minds of the Chinese,” Parks added. “It’s almost certainly true that they are trying to safeguard their investments by getting more local buy-in.”

Chinese officials, meanwhile, are promoting the infrastructure development they are funding.

“Every day you can see new changes. It shows the sincerity of Chinese for development of Gwadar,” Fijian Zhao, the deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, tweeted last month.

NAVAL FACILITY
For its investment in Gwadar, China will receive 91 percent of revenues until the port is returned to Pakistan in four decades’ time. The operator, China Overseas Ports Holding Company, will also be exempt from major taxes for more than 20 years.

Pakistan’s maritime affairs minister, Hasil Bizenjo, said the arrival of the Chinese in the region contrasted with the experience of the past two centuries, when Russia and Britain, and later the United States and the Soviet Union, vied for control of the warm water ports of the Persian Gulf.

“The Chinese have come very smoothly, they have reached the warm waters,” Bizenjo told Reuters. “What they are investing is less than a peanut for access to warm waters.”

When a U.S. Pentagon report in June suggested Gwadar could become a military base for China, a concern that India has also expressed, Beijing dismissed the idea.

“Talk that China is building a military base in Pakistan is pure guesswork,” said a Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman, Wu Sian.

Bizenjo and other Pakistani officials say Beijing has not asked to use Gwadar for naval purposes.

“This port, they will use it mostly for their commercial interests, but it depends on the next 20 years where the world goes,” Bizenjo said.
Riaz Haq said…
Private jails in Balochistan’s fiefdoms - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

https://www.dawn.com/news/1763048

“On the first day, I was suspended from a girder in the courtyard, and I lost consciousness upon being beaten up by a guard,” reveals one of them. “After three consecutive nights, I finally stopped fainting from the physical violence.” It was the beginning of three years of hell.

“There were fetters on our legs and my hands were tied. One of my fellow prisoners would have to open the narra [drawstring] of my shalwar when I wanted to relieve myself, which I had to do in a cooler. That’s what the prisoners were given to use as a toilet,” he tells Dawn over the phone. “I went three years without taking a shower. I couldn’t even cut my hair and nails. I smelled of urine all the time as did the other prisoners.”

In the dead of night, the guards, many of whom had criminal backgrounds, would take them outside and taunt them over their disheveled appearance. “In winter, they would throw cold water on us in the courtyard, they would leave us there to die, hanging from the girder. I still suffer from trauma. My hands tremble so much, I can’t even hold a pen.”

One former prisoner said that during his two plus years in detention, he only saw sunlight after a mouse dug a little hole from outside into the room where he was kept.

Dawn Investigations tracked down another former prisoner, this one from Kachhi district. “There were 12 of us in custody, one of whom was suspended by his hands from a hook in the ceiling,” he told Dawn. “Among the prisoners was a Hindu man. He was reciting the Bhagavad Gita out of fear. I told him that the sardar and I are both Muslims, and if he didn’t forgive me over our own holy book, he won’t do it for your holy book either.”

Another former detainee, Fazal*, was kept in a room without any windows or air vents, he says while speaking to Dawn in his hometown of Barkhan. His hands and feet were constantly bound. “I even had to sleep like that,” he said, repeatedly putting his fingers to his face out of nervousness. “There was a water cooler in a corner of the room into which we would relieve ourselves. The smell and anxiety would not let us sleep.”
Riaz Haq said…
Gwadar to turn into economic hub with airport operationalisation


https://www.nation.com.pk/28-Jun-2023/gwadar-to-turn-into-economic-hub-with-airport-operationalisation

ISLAMABAD-The establishment of New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) is a shining example of collaboration between China and Pakistan in the area of aviation, as Gwadar is going to turn into an economic hub and tourist destination following the expected completion of this project in September 2023, said aviation consultant Muhammad Afsar Malik. “The NGIA will be the largest airport in Pakistan after its operation,” said Afsar Malik. Test flight operations were made at the NGIA in March 2023, and currently the main terminal building has been undergoing indoor mechanical and electrical equipment installation and decoration operations. Afsar said that construction work on the runway of the airport, including taxiway and service lanes, and navigational lighting system has also been completed.

Due to its modern design, and infrastructure facilities, the NGIA is estimated to be the biggest airport in Pakistan, capable of handling A380 aircraft. Highlighting the potential and capacity of the NGIA, Afsar Malik added that it will not only boost the development of Gwadar, but also act as a portal for boosting trade between Pakistan and China. This newly built airport will elevate the geopolitical status of the region. “Owing to its geographical location, the NGIA will prove as one of the leading airports not only for Pakistan but also for the region to enhance regional trade and connectivity,” Afsar said while talking to WealthPK, adding that the airport will enhance connectivity and trade with Afghanistan, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Qatar through the nearest available airports in the region.

The NGIA has set a shining example of the mega China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and the collaboration between China and Pakistan in the aviation sector. A senior official from Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA), pleading not to be named, told WealthPK that Boeing 747 and other Air Bus aircraft will be able to land at the NGIA with ease, and flights to India, Afghanistan, Iran, China, the Middle East, Central Asian countries will be made from this airport. The official said the NGIA is built with advanced facilities as four planes will be able to get landing simultaneously at this airport, a facility which is not currently available at any other airport in the country. “For the convenience of passengers, 39 hold-and-hang baggage scanning machines are being installed, and latest security arrangements have been installed at the airport with fool-proof security arrangements,” said the official. The areas adjacent to this new airport have been declared special security zones and fool-proof arrangements will be ensured. The official said that with the assistance of Chinese authorities, research is also being conducted to ensure clean and green environment in the areas of the NGIA. The length of runway is 3,658 meters, with the width of 75 meters to adjust big planes’ landing at this airport.

The NGIA is also facilitated with maintenance of planes. As Gwadar is going to become a hub of world trade following the CPEC projects, all the projects are being completed as per international standards.

More than 3,000 people will get employment opportunities at the airport, and trade and economic activities will get boost along with tourism potential as Gwadar, owing to its marine landscape, has unique prominence and attraction.

The Chinese government has financed the airport as part of the CPEC project, while the Sultanate of Oman also contributed $17.6 million for the airport project. A Chinese airport construction firm, Chinese Communication Construction Company (CCC), has been handling this project of $246 million, and following its completion, it will be operated and managed by the PCAA.

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