THE Gwadar port project has had a variety of critics, ranging from Baloch nationalists to the Pakistan Navy. Now the Balochistan government has decided to approach the Supreme Court in order to challenge the federal government's deal that allows a foreign firm to run the port. Chief Minister Aslam Raisani wants the deal — signed during Gen Musharraf's rule — cancelled. The deal granted control of the port to the Port of Singapore Authority for 40 years. The CM has said the contract is not in the interest of Balochistan and was not signed by the “true representatives” of the people. Calls to scrap the contract have been made in the past, notably by the Planning Commission, while nationalists have long railed against the mega-project, fearing that a demographic earthquake would result because of the port, turning the native Baloch into a minority.

Despite the fact that the port has been functioning for two years it has fai-led to attract any substantial commercial traffic. Strategically speaking, Gwadar has immense potential located at the mouth of the Gulf the port can be the hub of an energy corridor linking the Gulf with Central Asia and China. In fact, Gwadar has been described as a key jewel in China's 'String of Pearls' strategic doctrine, aimed at protecting the Middle Kingdom's energy and trade interests. But infrastructure, such as road and rail links, warehousing facilities and storage facilities for oil and gas, is sorely needed. China was a major investor in the project, yet it is claimed that former prime minister Shaukat Aziz gave away the contract to favourites without transparent bidding. The matter needs to be resolved as Gwadar cannot be allowed to turn into a white elephant. China is one of our closest allies and alienating it does not make sense. If the contract was awarded after meeting all the requirements, it must be honoured as cancelling a sovereign agreement may send a wrong message to foreign investors. The government must take steps to make Gwadar port viable and to ensure that locals in particular and Balochistan in general get a fair share of the pie.