Gwadar Protest Called Off After Negotiations With Govt Succeed

Gwadar Protest Called Off After Negotiations With Govt Succeed
The month-long Gwadar sit-in has been called off by protesters following the acceptance of all their demands by the government. Protesting leader Maulana Hidyat-ur-Rehman announced an end to the sit-in while addressing the crowd, and added that the sit-in has ended but the movement for rights of the Baloch will continue.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority chairman Khalid Mansoor visited Gwadar on the order of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

They participated in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, in which the situation in Gwadar and development projects in the port city were discussed.

Following the meeting Bizenjo visited that site of the protest and addressed the protesters. He told participants of the sit-in that all their demands were being accepted by the government as they were all legitimate.

He added that a ban had been imposed on illegal fishing and the decision will be strictly implemented. He said that it was the government's priority to provide the people of Gwadar with development projects and all kinds of basic rights and facilities. Bizenjo added that collaboration with the provincial government will continue in this regard.

In a press talk after the meeting, Umar said that Imran Khan government would take all necessary steps to make sure that the people of Gwadar get their legitimate rights. He added that a youth development center had also been planned in partnership with China to provide skills to the young people of the region. He also told the media that the federal government wanted to provide education, healthcare, electricity, and employment to the people of Balochistan as the premier believed that all Pakistanis had a right to the countries resources.

In a tweet, Asad Umar said that the meeting had reviewed progress on development projects in Gwadar and issued orders to expedite work on all the projects.

https://twitter.com/Asad_Umar/status/1471435568747798532

Protestors from Pishkan, Gwadar, Zamran, Turbat, Pasni, Buleda and Ormara had been participating in the sit-in. They had vowed to continue their protest till their demands were met. Launched almost a month ago, ‘Gwadar Ko Haq Do’ movement was led by Balochistan’s general secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman.

The protesters had presented 19 demands; including taking actions to free the sea of the ‘trawler mafia’ enabling fishermen to openly go into the waters. They had also demanded the removal of token system at the Pak-Iran border and the dispelling of inessential security check posts which are a hindrance to the movement of locals.