Pak shuts wine stores in Balochistan's Gwadar amid protests against CPEC
Nov 27, 2021
Islamabad [Pakistan], November 27 : The Pakistani authorities have ordered the closure of all wine stores in Balochistan's Gwadar district with immediate effect in view of the "law and order situation", local media reported on Saturday.
Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Balochistan Minister for Planning and Development, shared a notification on Twitter.
"The undersigned is pleased to close all wine stores in Gwadar with immediate effect till further orders due to the prevailing law & order situations in Gwadar," read the notification.
This comes as protests have intensified in Pakistan's Gwadar district against China's multi-billion belt and road project, with people fearing threats to their livelihoods from illegal fishing.
This decision to close down wine shops come following an agreement between the demonstrators and government to postpone planned protest sit-in and blockade of the coastal highway and Eastbay expressway after talks with a team of provincial ministers.
Scores of people have staged a sit-in protest against various issues including needless check posts and fishing trawlers in Balochistan province. Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, the Provincial General Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Balochistan is spearheading several demonstrations in the region against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Thousands of people from Gwadar and other regions were taking part in the sit-in for over a week, Dawn newspaper reported. The protestors are demanding the removal of additional check-posts at Pushkan, Sarbandan and Gwadar City, the complete removal of fishing trawlers and the opening of the Pak-Iran border.
CPEC has been marred with controversy since the announcement of the USD 46 billion project in 2015. Locals are opposing China's increasing involvement in Balochistan. They are protesting as the CPEC project has not benefited the people of Balochistan while people of other provinces are enjoying the fruits of the mega project.
This has led to widespread protests as the Chinese are viewed as encroachers who are squeezing out all the wealth from the region. This is the second such mass protest in the port city within a span of a few weeks, according to Dawn. Back in October, thousands of residents of Gwadar and Turbat had also gathered there to demonstrate against the non-availability of drinking water, health and education facilities and rising unemployment in Makran division, Dawn newspaper reported.
