GWADAR: All accords signed by the federal government regarding Gwadar and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) should be made public, said Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, chief of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), on Thursday evening.

He added that it was important to pass legislation which would protect the people of Balochistan and “not let them become a minority in the port city of Gwadar”.

Speaking at a public meeting at the Sorag Dil ground in Gwadar, the party chief said that BNP-M was not against development but would resist any development that would deny the rights of the residents of Gwadar “and convert their majority into a minority”.

The party’s secretary general Senator Dr Jahanzeb Khan Jamaldini, MNA Sayed Essa Noori, MPA Hammal Kalmati and Dr Aziz Baloch also spoke at the public gathering which was largely attended by people from Turbat, Pasni, Khuzdar, Kalat, Hub and parts of Gwadar district.

Sardar Mengal said that his party would not compromise on the rights of the Baloch people and would not hesitate to make sacrifices to protect their honour.

“The party will not withdraw from its struggle for the achievement of legitimate rights of the people of Balochistan, protection of the coast and resources of Balochistan,” he said.

He added that in the name of development Balochistan’s resources were being usurped and “the Baloch people have been turned into slaves”.

According to Sardar Mengal, the “rulers are trying to snatch the sea from local fishermen who have been using it to earn their bread and butter for centuries”. He said that Balochistan had been producing gas since 1952 for the entire country, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, but Balochistan was deprived of it.

He added that even now, gas was only available in a few cities in the province.

Former chief minister of Balochistan Sardar Mengal discussed the Saindak Copper-Gold Project in Chagai, and said that none of the locals benefited from the gold recovering project.

He said that Gwadar was a gateway to the CPEC and the $46 billion project was signed because of the port but the people of the port city had been deprived of drinking water and the government had done nothing to resolve this issue.

The BNP-M president said that he had observed some change due to development. He claimed that now checkpoints had been established “and the son of the soil is asked to identify himself and inform them where he is coming from and going”.

Sardar Mengal claimed that all agreements regarding the CPEC were signed by the chief minister of Punjab and included the “Malik of Balochistan” as a witness.

“We want of know all details of the CPEC and other agreements signed by the rulers regarding Gwadar,” he said.

“I demand that all agreements be made public,” he said, adding that whenever “we ask for Balochistan’s share in the $46 billion project we are told that they are constructing an international airport in Gwadar”.

“Our rulers are pleading the case of Kashmir but not paying any attention to problems being faced by the people of other provinces, including Balochistan, where people are deprived of even basic amenities,” he said.

He reiterated that the party and people of Balochistan were not against development but wanted development on the basis of equality.

“We want development for our fishermen, labourers and the people of Gwadar,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2016