Tensions had been rising for weeks as the Haq Do Tehreek (Gwadar Rights Movement) staged sit-ins that obstructed the port. The leader of the movement, Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman, even issued an ultimatum for Chinese nationals working in the area to leave.
In the early morning of Dec 26, police raided the protest camp. Since then, internet services have been suspended in the town – centrestage of the US$50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani component of the Belt and Road.
The government of the southwestern province of Balochistan, where Gwadar is located, has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code – a draconian colonial-era law that enables a ban on all kinds of rallies and protests – for one month. Police have reportedly arrested over 100 supporters of the movement, including the deputy chief of the rights group.
Based on multiple background interviews, Nikkei Asia has learned that supporters of the movement clashed with authorities for at least four days after the crackdown began. One police officer and one protester were purportedly killed. Due to media blackouts coupled with the suspension of internet services, it was not possible to confirm casualty figures.
The Gwadar Rights Movement was established in August 2021 to protest on behalf of the local population, expressing grievances about security checkpoints, deep-sea fish trawling in the area and restrictions on border trade with Iran.
The sit-in began in late October near the main entrance of the Chinese-built and operated port. The movement escalated its confrontation with the government in the third week of December, when Rehman warned Chinese to leave. “The government started the crackdown on protesters after China expressed its displeasure on the situation in Gwadar,” said Rasheed Baloch, a political analyst based in Quetta, Balochistan’s capital.
China’s presence in Pakistan has also been a target of separatists, and in the past Beijing has pressed the Pakistani authorities to do more to protect its interests.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case over the killing of one constable against movement leader Rehman. As of Monday, he had escaped arrest and was thought to be holed up at an undisclosed location, where he was creating video messages for his supporters.
In the latest video shared on his official Facebook page, Rehman claims that the common people of Gwadar have not benefited from the CPEC. He alleges that the Gwadar Eastbay Expressway – which his supporters had blocked during the protest – is meant to benefit the elite of the country. He vowed that his protest movement will continue.
The government has said little about the situation. Ziaullah Langove, the provincial home minister, vowed in a news conference that “the [Balochistan] government would not compromise on the writ of the state and would strictly deal with the elements behind violent protests and those using women as human shields to gain sympathies.” On Dec 10, thousands of women had rallied in Gwadar to show solidarity with Rehman.
The global human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, expressed alarm over the reports of mass arrests and the imposition of the emergency law in Gwadar. “Putting a blanket ban on all forms of public gatherings amounts to repression of the right to protest and sends a chilling message that there is no room for dissent,” the organisation said in a tweet.
Experts said that the civil disturbance and ongoing political tensions have damaged the image of Gwadar as an investment destination.
Mariyam Suleman, a development specialist and writer from Gwadar now based in Canada, said the crackdown and virtual curfew have cast the CPEC in an unfavourable light and drawn more attention to the contentious relations between the port town’s residents and government.
Baloch, the analyst in Quetta, said that the confrontation is likely to deter any new investor from putting down stakes. “Gwadar was not attracting many investors before these protests,” he said, “and the last week’s fiasco will further dent [its] investment-attracting prospects.”
Experts also say Rehman has emerged as a strong representative of Gwadar and that this could force the government to take his demands seriously. Baloch said the clashes proved that Rehman’s supporters are committed to his cause. Maulana, as Rehman is commonly known, “has bright chances of winning elections from Gwadar for the provincial assembly of Balochistan in 2023,” Baloch argued.
Nasir Sohrabi, president of the Rural Community Development Council of Gwadar, predicted that support for the Gwadar Rights Movement will only increase in the aftermath of the crackdown. “This protest movement,” Sohrabi said, “has allowed Rehman to successfully channel all the anger of the people of Gwadar toward the incumbent government.”
While the restrictions appear to be a stopgap and the unrest is likely far from over, some experts urged the government to change its approach.
Suleman said that the government needs to consult the people of Gwadar before signing more CPEC projects in the port town. “Instead of using force, [the government] has to listen to people’s basic needs,” she concluded. “There is no [other] way out of this.”