<\/p>\n
From Haq Do Tehreek protests and the Kech killings sparking BYC demonstrations to Iranian airstrikes in Panjgur, this part of Balochistan has been making headlines. But despondent locals say most previous candidates have failed them.<\/p>\n
FROM being a quiet fishing village in Makran to becoming a geopolitical asset as the flagship venture of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Gwadar has had an interesting journey through time.<\/p>\n A part of the Khan of Kalat\u2019s dominion before Partition, suzerainty over the port was granted to the brother of Oman\u2019s then-ruler, Sultan Bin Ahmed, after he had a falling out with the sultan and sought refuge in the neighbouring state.<\/p>\n By some accounts, the gesture was made in keeping with Baloch tradition of hospitality and offering refuge, but the warmth not reciprocated, and after becoming the ruler of Oman, the former refugee ruler refused to return Gwadar to the state of Kalat.<\/p>\n It was only in 1958, after a local movement and four years of intense negotiations, that Balochistan\u2019s historic warm-water port became part of Pakistan after it was \u2018purchased\u2019 for a sum of $3 million.<\/p>\n From Haq Do Tehreek protests in Gwadar and the Kech killings that sparked Baloch Yakjehti Committee demonstrations, to the recent Iranian airstrikes in Panjgur, this part of Balochistan has been making headlines. But despondent locals say most previous candidates have failed them<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Today, it is a different story. The fisher folk who dominate the seaside hamlet\u2019s population have been on the receiving end of what they call \u201cthe state\u2019s injustices\u201d, such as being driven out of their old settlements in the port town to make way for development projects.<\/p>\n On a frosty January morning, they converge at their traditional haunt, the dhoria, a raised, open platform where they repair fishing nets, play cards and talk about everything \u2013 from illegal trawling to local politics \u2013 especially during election season. Interestingly, the dhoria looks out on the four berths of the anchorage. From here, The Eastbay Expressway, which cost $168 million and is a part of the $62 billion CPEC, is a mere stone\u2019s throw away.<\/p>\n Ever since President Xi Jinping of China announced the CPEC project in 2015, Gwadar\u2019s significance has increased manifold. As Chinese investment poured in, the port city has been catapulted into national and international discourse, and has also been shaken by attacks on Chinese nationals and security forces. However, nationalists from across the province agree that Gwadar, in its new avatar as a development hub, is intrinsic to Baloch politics. But locals, and nationalists in particular, are skeptical about their identity in Gwadar as the seat of business and regional connectivity; they harbour fears of being outnumbered.<\/p>\n Abubaqar Baloch, 50, is from the Kumari Ward, another town near the dhoria inhabited by fishermen for centuries. The bespectacled, bearded fisherman dressed in Balochi shalwar kameez wants to comment on the upcoming polls with his fellow fishermen. His ward lacks basic facilities, including water and a sewerage system.<\/p>\n \n