Analyzing the CPEC: The world should know, Gwadar is still suffering – Inayat Baloch

Writer: Inayat Baloch

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, was initiated with high hopes and tall claims in the development of Pakistan especially in Balochistan. The goal of the CPEC is both, to transform Pakistan’s economy—by modernizing and to connect the deep-sea Pakistani ports of Gwadar and Karachi to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China and beyond by overland routes. It is impossible to complete the CPEC project without Gwadar. CPEC was initiated in 2013 and over a decade, there have not been any changes in the fate of the people of Gwadar and Balochistan. However, the word “progress” in a colony like Balochistan has different meanings and it means to exploit resources and help the colonizer. Balochistan has been neglected since 1947 by the Federal Government of Pakistan despite having huge resources of minerals like gold, copper, sulphate, natural gas etc. Similarly, Gwadar gets its importance after CPEC because of its deep sea. However, CPEC did not provide such benefits to the residents of Gwadar and Balochistan. The road structure might change within the Gwadar to connect it to the Deep-Sea Port, but the surrounding communities’ infrastructure does not change. The cost of CPEC is around $62 billion (about $190 per person in the US), but it has no budget for public projects like the infrastructure of Gwadar.

It is normally too common in colonies that colonizers only build such projects which give benefits to them, not to the residents. Similarly, China and Pakistan built the first-ever Airport, Marine Drive, Gwadar Seaport, and accommodations for colonizers, but they did not build any projects to benefit the locals. Pakistan officials promise that CPEC will result in the creation of 2.3 million jobs between 2015 and 2030 and now their ways of earning are being crushed under the weight of their so-called “flagship” project. As reported by local fishers and other stakeholders, the project is still not allowing fishing to continue. Meanwhile, the residents of Gwadar are living lower standardized lives, they are not even getting fresh water with their lands being grabbed by colonizers for their personal projects.

The recent flood in Gwadar is a good example of how the word “progress” has been used by colonizers. The local and provincial governments did not handle the disaster well. The central government also shares blame because they often talk about Gwadar’s importance for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, the poor condition of infrastructure and lack of readiness during disasters show that the safety and well-being of people aren’t a top priority for them.

This problem isn’t just in Gwadar; it’s throughout Balochistan. Historically, Balochistan has been behind the rest of the country in development, including disaster management. They looted the lands, manhandled human resources, controlled the residents’ movement and in return, residents got the worst government management and infrastructure. The incessant rains started on 27 Feb and continued for around 30 hours with different durations affecting coastal areas, especially Gwadar because the current infrastructure was not ready for such a disaster, on the other hand, Marine Drive and Seaport were not affected as much which is an example how they used the word “Progress” for people of Gwadar. It’s clear that Gwadar and Baluchistan urgently need to get ready for disasters. They should focus on fixing drainage systems, and smart infrastructure, creating quick early warning systems and plans to rescue that help protect people from losing their homes and jobs during disasters.

The recent floods has exposed negligence and the actual purpose of CPEC and the intentions of China for the people of Gwadar. Many humanitarian organizations are blaming climate change as major cause of the flood, but they are manipulating the truth. The delay in implementing action-oriented plan in the Gwadar port and smart city master plans for nearly five years has really set back the region’s hope for development. It could even be seen as the main reason for floods happening now.

However, infrastructure can be up to date according to weather and future weather predictions. If they gave equal priority to people as they gave to other projects, then they would have launched new projects for infrastructure to update the living standards of Gwadar residents. Moreover, government management seemed callous and ignorant in providing facilitation to affected people and still humanitarian organizations are working to give relief to people. Government stakeholders mostly seem to be interested in the well-being of foreigners who are working for CPEC but not in the actual beneficiaries. The recent flood has exposed the irresponsible behaviour on the part of the government. Gwadar is more a like colony of China and Pakistan, these two countries are more interested in exploiting rather than easing the lives of residents of Gwadar.