Posts Tagged ‘Gwadar’

‘China agrees to run Gwadar port’

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said on Saturday that China had “acceded to Pakistan’s request to take over operations” of the Gwadar port as soon as the agreement with the Singapore Port Authority expired. The minister, who had accompanied the prime minister during his visit to China, issued a statement to press about the [...]

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Via DAWN.com

Sino-Pak ties set to touch new highs

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SHANDONG – Sino-Pak bilateral relations would touch new heights during the next four years since leadership from both the countries has decided to pace up the development of Gwadar Port to provide China a shorter route and easy excess to world markets to dispatch its goods to remote destinations.
It…

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India engaged in strategic encirclement of Balochistan

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GWADAR – It was a revealing two-day visit to this new port city, which was arranged by ISPR for media persons basically to cover a function at the Gwadar Institute of Technology, a joint venture of Balochistan Government and Pakistan Army.
The Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Khan Raisani and…

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Army to pull out of Sui, Gwadar

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GWADAR (Agencies) – Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on Monday that the Army would be withdrawn from Sui and Gwadar in the next two months, and in future no operation will take place in Balochistan without the permission of the provincial government.
During…

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Kayani announces withdrawal of Army from Sui and Gwadar in two months

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Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani said on Monday that army would be withdrawn from Sui and Gwadar in the next two months and in the future no operation will take place in Balochistan without the permission of the provincial government.
During an address at the inauguration…

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Portrait of a land unseen

These photographs are from a series of images documenting the indigenous cultural settlement found along Pakistan’s coastal belt.

The people of Gwadar are open to education and progress. Yet, they have a fear which is quite unique and one that urbanites would find particularly surprising: they fear foreign investment. Gwadar’s residents believe that foreign cash and investment will burgeon alien corporations that will take over their resources. Furthermore, this fear is being used by rebellious forces in Balochistan to spread hate amongst citizens who feel that they have being unjustly treated and overlooked.

Gwadar is also suffering from the lack of a sustainable education system, as there are no universities for the local people.The economy of the coastal region depends largely on its fishing industry. Oil is smuggled from Iran for all and sundry and many make daily  excursions to the neighboring land where they have opened up shop and carry out businesses. With its vast long beaches and arid landscape, Gwadar has a lot to contribute to Pakistan’s economy yet its potential remains untapped and often, unnoticed. – Text and Photography by Asad Faruqi

(Asad Faruqi is a documentary photographer and filmmaker from Karachi. He was also part of the Emmy Award winning documentary film “Children of the Taliban.”)

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PPP Senators join opposition walkout

Not even a single minister was present in the house at the time of the walkout, leaving only three ruling party senators in the upper house — Leader of the House Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Sughra Imam and Sabir Baloch. — File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The Senate witnessed unprecedented scenes on Saturday when senators from all political parties, including the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, staged a token walkout in protest against the absence of federal ministers from the proceedings.

Not even a single minister was present in the house at the time of the walkout, leaving only three ruling party senators in the upper house — Leader of the House Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Sughra Imam and Sabir Baloch.

Deputy Parliamentary Leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri spearheaded the move by observing that no minister was available to respond to questions of public importance, including the recent increase in prices of petroleum products, loadshedding and ,doctors’ strike,.

Announcing the walkout from the house he appealed to other political parties to join his party in the protest against lack of interest in the proceedings by the ministers. The appeal evoked a positive response and a collective walkout was staged by members from the treasury and opposition benches, forcing Chairman Farooq H. Naek to adjourn the proceedings for 15 minutes.

Another distinct feature of the proceedings was that almost all the house business was conducted through points of order. Even a discussion on the presidential address to the joint session of parliament which has been on the agenda for three days could not commence and it was decided that the issue would be discussed on Tuesday evening.

The issue of doctors’ strike and loadshedding and water scarcity in 16 districts of Balochistan dominated the proceedings.

Chairperson of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Health Kulsum Parveen said that all members of the committee had visited the Polyclinic Hospital for two consecutive days and found that 80 per cent of the protesting doctors’ demands were genuine.

Wasim Sajjad, Zafar Ali Shah, Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi, Shirala Malik, Mir Hasil Bizenjo and Abdul Rahim Mandokhel called for urgent steps to solve the problems of doctors. They were of the view that the coming generations would be averse to coming to the profession if the doctors’ demands were ignored.

One of the suggestions was to give incentives to the doctors willing to perform duties in rural areas by offering them double salaries.

Nayyar Bokhari said health was a provincial subject after the passage of the 18th Amendment. He expressed sympathy with the families whose dear ones had lost their lives because of non-availability of proper treatment.

He said the health secretary was negotiating with the doctors in the federal capital territory. He asked the house committee to formulate recommendations and promised that the issue would be resolved soon.

Hasil Bizenjo complained that there had been no water in 16 districts of Balochistan from Pishin to Khuzdar for 22 days. He said it was playing havoc with crops, besides killing a number of cattle.

Ismael Buledi said Iran was ready to provide electricity for Turbat, Panjgur and Gwadar, but regretted that signing of an agreement in this regard was being delayed. He asked the water and power ministry to explain when a delegation would be sent to Iran to sign the agreement.

Abdul Rahim Mandokhel also raised the issue and said that an area of about 50,000 square miles was being affected because of water shortage caused by the long spell of power outage.

Nayyar Bokhari said that electricity and water problems in Balochistan were because of damage of a transmission line caused be a blast.

Farooq Naek termed it a serious issue and asked the leader of the house to ensure that the water and power ministry submits a detailed report on Tuesday.

Shahid Bugti alleged that hundreds of people had been killed in Balochistan over the past few months and mutilated bodies were being found daily, but Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ignored the real threat and only said in the Senate on Friday that the government was trying to resolve the issue and he had taken Baloch leaders to India to watch the Cricket World Cup semi-final between Pakistan and India.

“Taking Baloch lawmakers to India will not solve the problem,” he remarked.

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Via DAWN.com

Gunmen kill 11 road workers in Gwadar

Four attackers hit the camp of road construction workers before fleeing on motorbikes, said a government official.—AFP/File photo

QUETTA: A security official says gunmen have attacked a camp for road construction workers in an area of Balochistan where rebels are active, killing 11 people.

Azittalah said the attack late Monday took place close to the port town of Gwadar.

Azittalah, who heads a tribal security force, says four attackers hit the camp before fleeing on motorbikes.

Azittalah, who goes by a single name, did not identify the victims, though many laborers in Balochistan are settlers.

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Gwadar suitable for Afghan transit trade, says CM

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has said that Afghan transit trade through Gwadar port could boost economic activities in the province. Talking to reporters here on Sunday, he said the transit trade was imperative for sustainable development of the …

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SC stays transfer of Gwadar Port property

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ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a stay order against the transfer of Gwadar Port’s immovable property to private firms till further orders and ruled that the order would remain effective till the apex court decided several petitions challenging a contract awarded to Port Singapore Authority (PSA) for…

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Houbara hunting permits issued to Gulf dignitaries

KARACHI: The federal government has issued 28 special permits to the rulers, members of ruling families and other dignitaries of four Gulf states to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the 2010-2011 season, according to reliable sources.

The sources said that, according to the code of conduct, the hunting period is restricted to 10 days with a bag limit of 100 birds.

Hunting of Houbara bustard by Pakistanis is banned under wildlife laws.

Houbara bustard, a native to Central Asia’s Kuzl Kum region, around the Aral Sea, is a migratory bird species that visits Pakistan every year to escape the harsh winter.

The bird is sought after by Arab hunters owing to a myth that its meat has aphrodisiac qualities — a notion not supported by scientific evidence.

The United Arab Emirates tops the list with 13 hunting permits — 11 of these have been awarded to the ruler and ruling family members. Five of these have been granted to people from Abu Dhabi and six from Dubai.

ABU DHABI
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, has been allotted hunting areas in three provinces.

In Punjab he has been granted Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur and D.G. Khan districts, in Sindh Sukkur, Ghotki, Nawabshah and Sanghar districts and in Balochistan his areas comprise Zhob, Ormara, Gwadar, Pasni, Panjgur and Washuk districts.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, can hunt in Lehri Tehsil of Sibi district, Balochistan.

Deputy prime minister of UAE, Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has been permitted to hunt in Khairpur district, including Kot Diji.

DUBAI
Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice-president of UAE and ruler of Dubai, has been permitted to hunt in Khuzdar and Lasbela districts of Balochistan and Muzaffargarh district in Punjab.

SAUDI ARABIA
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has been allotted Chagai and Nushki districts of Balochistan.

Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, interior minister and brother of King Abdullah, has been permitted to hunt in Dera Bugti, Dera Murad Jamali, Nasirabad and Awaran districts of Balochistan.

In Punjab his territory comprises Khushab, Jhang, Mianwali and Sargodha districts.

QATAR
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the amir of Qatar, has been allotted Bahawalnagar district in Punjab.

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Via DAWN.com

Raisani to challenge Gwadar port contract in SC

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has decided to challenge in the Supreme Court the federal government’s agreement with Singapore Port Authority (SPA) for running the Gwadar port, according to sources.

They said Nawab Raisani discussed the issue with legal experts on Friday in Islamabad and decided in principle to file a petition in the apex court within the next few days. The chief minister asked the Balochistan advocate-general and the provincial law secretary to reach Islamabad on Saturday to make arrangements for the filing of the petition, they said.

According to them, Mr Raisani wanted to get the contract with the SPA cancelled in view of the reservations and apprehensions expressed about it by his cabinet colleagues as well as by other political groups in Balochistan.

The contract was approved and signed by the federal government during the regime of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. Under the contract the SPA is supposed to run the operations of the port for 40 years.

The chief minister has repeatedly said the contract does not protect the interests of Balochistan because the true representatives of its people were bypassed at the time of its signing.

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Via DAWN.com

Balochistan govt to challenge Gwadar Port pact in SC

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QUETTA – Government of Balochistan has decided to challenge the agreement of Gwadar Port with Port of Singapore Port Authority in the Supreme Court, a reliable source within the government seeking anonymity told TheNation here on Friday night.
According to the source, the provincial government would file a petition in…

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Balochistan firm on running Reko Diq plan

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani has warned against bypassing his government while issuing the mining licence for the Reko Diq gold and copper project in Chaghi.

Reacting to media reports about secret meetings on the project held by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other important leaders with chiefs of 20 multinational companies, he said the gold and copper reserves belonged to the people of Balochistan and the provincial government could not be bypassed in issuing the mining licence.

Talking to this correspondent, Nawab Raisani said the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had only been given an exploration licence and not a mining permit.

He said the exploration licence would expire next year and his government had decided that afterwards it would run the project itself.

“We have prepared the PC-1 of the project and it has been approved by the Planning Commission.”

He dispelled a perception that the TCC had been given a 30-year mining licence.The chief minister said the Rs1 billion PC-1 was likely to be approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council at its next meeting and after that the Balochistan government would start work on the project.

He said his government had the capability and equipment to run the project and its first priority would be to manage it on its own. “If there is a technical problem we may get help from the market.”

The chief minister said that according to one estimate the gold and copper reserves in the Reko Diq mountains were worth $1 trillion.

Nawab Raisani said senior scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand had been appointed chairman of the board of directors of the project.

GWADAR PORT: The chief minister said he was trying to cancel an agreement signed with the Singapore Port Authority for operating the Gwadar port, adding that all agreements which undermined the rights and interests of the people of Balochistan would be scrapped.

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Via DAWN.com

Affected people of Gwadar protest against shortage of facilities

The people affected by cyclone “Phet” have protested over shortage of food and medical facilities and raised slogans against the federal and provincial government in Gwadar.
According to a private TV channel, the affected people of Gwadar have protested on “Fish Harbor Road” and the protest was organized by…

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Gwadar still cut off from rest of the country

ISLAMABAD (Agencies) – The port city of Gwadar is still cut off from rest of the country, as the Makran Coastal Highway, which was damaged due to heavy flooding, could not have been reopened as yet.
Although the rain spell ended on Sunday thousands of people in Gwadar town and…

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Navy Alouette stationed at PNS AHSAN and Makran

Under the direction of Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir, 02 PN Alouette have been stationed at PNS AHSAN and MAKRAN to augment relief efforts pertaining to Operation MADAD executed by Pakistan Navy. Additionally a Fokker sortie has also been conducted for relief operation at Gwadar.
According…

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