Above: An image of the Gwadar port present day. In a few years it may look nothing like that, but an overpopulated, polluted city like Karachi.
Background:
In the early decades of Pakistan's independence from British rule, Karachi was nothing more than a small, pleasant, clean seaport town. But ever since the expansions and rapid increase of population, the city has become a disaster.
Gwadar the port city in Pakistan's Balochistan has also been mostly the same, but with the recent expansion, I fear it could turn into another Karachi in a matter of a few years.
Political reasons:
Given the current politics in Balochistan with tensions between Baloch nationalists and the Pakistani government, the expansion of the Gwadar port could only further inflame the political situation.
With the Gwadar port expanded, countries from all over the world will be using it as a major transit point- increasing the traffic in an area which has mostly remained undisturbed throughout it's history.
In the recent years, many Baloch nationalists have resented the movement of people from other parts of Pakistan and taking up property and high positions.
The biggest resentment has been the extraction of many resources such as oil and petroleum without the people of Balochistan (including Balochis, Pakhtuns, Brahuis and others) gaining anything from this extraction.
Imagine how they would react to foreigners then who would come in massive movements, disturbing the peace and quiet of Balochistan.
As a reaction to this, certain Baloch rebel groups have started attacks on government and installations. By spending money on expanding Gwadar, the government may only generate loss should the rebels attack important infrastructure in the Gwader area.
Who would pay to replace all this if the rebels destroy them? Building the infrastructure there would have been a waste of money and resources in the first place.
Even with new proposed negotiations with the rebels, the Pakistani government has lost the trust of many Baloch people, by expanding the Gwadar port and globalizing an undisturbed region only more trust will be lost. And without trust, how will there be stability within Pakistan?
Expanding Gwadar will only further destabilize the political situation.
Environmental reasons:
Karachi also started out like Gwadar. A quite and peaceful town also used as a port. Even in the first few decades of independence, Karachi was a relatively clean, peaceful city much like Gwadar is today.
Now look at it. A complete disaster. One of the most crowded, filthiest, polluted, undeveloped cities in the world.
The creeks and and mangroves around Karachi were clean and undisturbed at one time. Even the water around the harbor was clean and safe to swim in. Today they are completely polluted.
Much of Pakistan especially the urban areas are densely populated and polluted which has led to environmental disasters and deforestation. Much of the natural habitat around Karachi is being destroyed or already has been.
Balochistan is one of the last undisturbed places of Pakistan, where the seawater is relatively clean, providing safe and healthy fish products and access to clean sea.
With the mindless expansion of Gwadar, the city may as well end up like Karachi. This may generate plenty of profits for the economy, but our well being does not simply depend on money.
A good environment is necessary for the survival of any nation. For a good environment a sustainable population number is needed, something Pakistan has far surpassed and needs to immediately reduce to avoid disaster.
With Gwadar expanded, we might be killing a lot of fishing industries and damaging our environment, which will have terrible consequences on the long run.
If we are to expand Gwadar, we should ensure we make it like a Gulf Arab city such as Muscat. Even making it like Dubai will have a negative impact.
Either we must come up with a solution to prevent Gwadar from turning into another Karachi or we must abandon the expansion all together.
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