By Rahul Kumar New Delhi, Dec 8, 2008: The ‘Give Rights to Gwadar’ movement seemed to be moving towards greater radicalisation with the arrival of Sirajul Haq (Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami) on Monday.He visited Gwadar, a port city in turmoil, to support the ‘Gwadar Ko Haq do’ movement, which is now 22 days old.
The Imran Khan government’s visit to Gwadar by Haq is not a good sign.The JI leader has warned that the stir could become a nationwide movement.
Haq assured protestors that the people’s demands were just and that the government should comply with them.
India was informed by Mark Kinra, geopolitical analyst and who has been closely following the developments in Gwadar. Narrative: “The visit of Ameer Sirajul-Haq was extremely significant because the movement seems to have transcended from a local movement within a region to become a party-led, national movement.” Haq also indicated the same when he pledged to take it to the national level.
According to Pakistani newspaper The News, Haq stated that “if it doesn’t solve the problems in Gwadar, then the protest to show solidarity with the peoples of Gwadar won’t be limited to Gwadar but will spread throughout the country.” He said that Maulana Hidayat ur-Rehman, a Baloch native, is leading a peaceful movement, with the support and participation of women, children, and others.
Kinra points out the Baloch agitation took a new turn after the JI’s top leader joined the movement.The JI has a completely Islamic agenda in Pakistan and could have an impact on the Baloch freedom movement against Islamabad.Many Baloch nationals are experiencing similar fears.
Kinra observes that Haq tried to corner Balochistan’s political parties and influential people with his speech, including the Chief of Tribes and Sardars who have ruled over the Baloch for centuries.”
Another significant development in the region is the government seeming to buckle under the pressure of the protestors who are drawing support from other parts.
The charter of demands made by Gwadar protestors seems to have been accepted by the local government.
Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, reports that the Balochistan provincial government has banned illegal fishing by trawlers, mainly from China, and other provinces along the coast of Balochistan.
The government also moved the headquarters of the fisheries division from capital Quetta, to Gwadar, in protest to the protestors.
This was done to ensure that it could monitor and curb illegal fishing as requested by local fishermen.
The token system that was imposed on local fishermen has been abolished by the government.
Local fishermen can now fish in the ocean without needing to get a token.
There are however, significant issues that the Balochistan government is not able to resolve.
These include opening the Iranian border and eliminating security checkpoints.These are shared with Islamabad as well as the powerful Pakistani military.
Kinra says: “Only demands that require deliberation at either the federal government level or the army levels remain.” One such demand is the return of forcibly disappeared people, which is a major problem in Balochistan because it is done under the protection and control of the army.The Pakistani Army has not been able to negotiate on behalf of missing persons with any provincial federal government or civil society.
He also said that it was difficult to imagine how this demand for JI could be fulfilled, as more than 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared in Pakistan by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.
The Baloch movement, which was founded against the Pakistani government as well as against economic exploitation by China, has now received new leaders.The Ameer’s visit has brought the ‘Give Rights to Gwadar’ movement into the national spotlight and has taken a new direction.
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