‘Gwadar protesters are constantly changing their demands’

An Interview with Makran Division Commissioner Syed Faisal Ahmed

QUETTA: Life at Gwadar, a key node of China’s multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has come to a grinding halt since the start of an angry protest in November 2022. Led by Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) firebrand leader from Balochistan Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, the protestors claim that the provincial and federal governments have failed to implement an agreement signed in November 2021 between the Maulana’s “Haq Do” movement and Abdul Quddus Bizenjo led Balochistan government.  Recently, the protests turned violent after the district authorities in the port city launched a crackdown against the protestors. Against this backdrop, Bol News interviews Makran Division Commissioner Syed Faisal Ahmed to know how authorities view the protest and how they propose to resolve this crisis.

Q. Why are the people of Gwadar protesting? Why has this protest become violent now?

SFA: All citizens of Pakistan including those leading the “Haq Do” movement have the right to stage a peaceful protest. However, the state has to intervene when a protest starts affecting other citizens’ constitutional rights like freedom of movement and the right to life. The participants of the ongoing protest in Gwadar had besieged the harbor restricting the movement of the people working there as well as tourists. This was the backdrop against which the authorities had to take action against the protestors.

Q. One of the demands of the protestors is to impose a ban of fishing trawlers from Sindh. It is said that there is a trawler mafia at work that has deprived the fishermen of Gwadar of their livelihood. Has any action been taken against this mafia?

SFA: Illegal trawlers do enter Balochistan’s waters but they do it very cleverly and secretly for if they are caught they have to pay a huge fine. Remember that one trip of a trawler coming from Karachi costs around Rs6-7 million and there is always a chance of its getting caught by our patrol teams.   We have been taking action against illegal trawlers and we want the support of the fishermen community as we do joint patrolling. We also have the support of all security and law enforcing agencies including the police. We have registered cases against 40 illegal trawlers and written to the Sindh government to take action against another 100 trawlers—50 of these trawlers have been fined and their licenses cancelled.

Q. The authorities were carrying out negotiations with the protest leaders a few days back. Why did they all of a sudden start using heavy handed tactics and remove their camp?

SFA: A majority of the people of Gwadar are not involved in the ongoing protest. Fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry and a large number of people are associated with it all over the world and in Gwadar. There is a university in Gwadar; there is a college in Gwadar and there is a cadet college in Ormara. The people of the port city want to study and work. They need peace.

Q. The Gwadar protest is painting a negative picture of the country. Women are also participating in it. Have any measures been taken to ensure that women stay at home and get education?

SFA: Youth and women are participating in the protest. Some women also pelted my car with stones but we did not take any action. We only want a peaceful environment where people can do their businesses and students can go to their schools, colleges and a university. We cannot let protestors damage the government properties, people’s lives and use women as a cover to launch attacks.

Q. Why negotiations with Maulana Hidayat have not been successful?

SFA: All demands of the protest leader had been accepted but later Maulana Sahib started making a new demand at every new meeting. When he had staged a sit-in in 2020, he had 17 demands. Now he has 40 demands. I ask what is the purpose of the protest. The government feels that he is using people and women for political purposes.