Gulf of Oman development continues to disenfranchise Baloch fishermen

Situated on the Gulf of Oman, the Gwadar Bay spans the maritime border between Iran and Pakistan. The 30-kilometer (19-mile) long bay, with the Dashtyari and Dasht rivers as tributaries, serves as the fulcrum of regional fishing activity. Thousands of Baloch fishermen residing in villages along the coastline rely on their daily catch to sustain themselves and their families. Over the past years, however, increased capitalist development in the area has been increasingly detrimental for these laborers, with wastewater and air pollution rising steadily in the region and negatively affecting marine life in the bay, while new infrastructure has displaced several hundreds of Baloch villagers.

In 2002, the Chinese government began investing in Gwadar. Twelve years later, it pledged $62 billion toward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), through which the country has hoped to expropriate regions rich in resources and construct cross-border paths linking the mainland to hotbeds of economic activity. Chosen strategically by the Chinese government as a prime investment location, the Pakistani port city of Gwadar is home to nearly 236,000 residents — of which over 70% are engaged in fishing — and lies in close proximity to some of the world’s most crucial gas and oil trade routes. The Chinese authorities hope to transform the bay, which originally saw only small boats and the occasional ship, into an international hub capable of docking hundreds of heavy vessels with hundreds of thousands of dead weight tonnage.

Over the past years, China has imported convoys of dozens of trucks and sea vessels to transport goods to and from the Gwadar Bay, the deepest seaport in the world. The government has also opted to run a sleuth of factories here to mine and process natural resources, while the Pakistani government has marketed these towns as real estate destinations for businessmen, erecting villas like the China Pak Golf Estates. Many plots in the Pakistani port city that opened up as housing developments have boomed. Having built a school, Beijing continues to pour money into the region, pledging grants toward hospitals, universities, an expressway and a new $230 million airport.

Once a quiet fishing hamlet, Gwadar has seen bus services and car rental companies, spa services, hotels, restaurants and cafes. Catered to tourists, the city has offered scuba diving and boating excursions, operated small cruises and advertised various water sports. In addition to directly impacting local fishermen, these activities have financed the Pakistani and Chinese governments, which in turn utilize such funds to further develop the Gwadar region and disenfranchise the Baloch people in a vicious cycle of capitalist greed.