A growing backlash against China's multibillion-dollar belt and road program has resulted in protests in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar over unnecessary checkpoints, a severe water and electricity shortage, and threat to livelihoods from illegal fishing.

Protests have been taking place for a week at Y Chowk on Port Road in Gwadar, a coastal town in Pakistan's restive Southwest Balochistan province, between workers of some political parties and civil rights protestors.

On Sunday, Jang newspaper reported that demonstrators are demanding the removal of unnecessary checkpoints, access to drinking water and electricity, and eviction of trawlers from Makran coast, as well as the opening of the border with Iran from Panjgur to Gwadar.

"Give rights to Gwadar" rally leader Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman said protests would continue until their demands were met. He asserted that the government has not been sincere in its attempt to resolve the problems of the local people living in the region.

In the past, Rehman has strongly criticized the government for not resolving the basic problems of Gwadar's people. "We are demanding the rights of Gwadar, which were usurped by the rulers, and the people were deprived of even basic needs. Big trawlers were allowed to fish at Makran Coast, which made it impossible for fishermen to earn a living," he said at a public meeting last month.

According to Rehman, the government has done nothing to address the issue of unemployment in the city despite the deep sea port being built.

"It is an insult to the sons of soil when they are stopped at checkpoints and asked where they are," he told The Express Tribune. Increasing protests regarding China's presence in Gwadar are linked to the project's vital importance to China's Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI), on which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is built.  The CPEC passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has prompted India to protest China.

China's Xinjiang province and Pakistan's Balochistan province are connected by this massive infrastructure project.

In the process of becoming Pakistan's jewel in the CPEC crown, Gwadar port became the very definition of security state. In terms of priorities, the authorities prioritize the safety of the port and its ancillary interests, and do not prioritize the welfare of the people living in the area. According to The Dawn newspaper, the port has had the opposite effect of heralding an economic boom.

As a result of this, privations have deepened; security forces restrict the freedom of movement of citizens, and their activities are illegally scrutinized. According to the report, many feel like strangers in their own country.

Image source: Times of India