Pakistan: JI workers protest against non-implementation of Gwadar agreement
Feb 21, 2022
Quetta [Pakistan], February 21 : Pakistan's Islamist political party Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Sunday staged a demonstration in front of the Quetta Press Club against the non-implementation of an agreement signed by the Imran Khan government with leaders of 'Gwadar Ko Haq Do' movement, local media reported.
Hundreds of workers and supporters of JI participated in the sit-in carrying party flags, placards and banners inscribed with their demands, marched on various roads and chanted slogans against the federal and provincial governments, the Dawn newspaper reported.
"The people of Quetta faced a large number of problems as universities, hospitals and other offices were closed amidst protests. They had been protesting since the government hadn't resolved their issues," the publication reported citing JI's Maulana Hashmi and Maulana Hidayat-Ur-Rehman.
The JI workers warned against the violation of the agreement signed in Gwadar. They said that if the issues of Quetta were not resolved, the JI workers would stage a million march next month in which people from entire Balochistan would participate.
"It is a great injustice that the people of Balochistan cannot use the coast and resources of their province. The government had promised to abolish check posts, but these posts still exist, creating serious problems for the masses in their movement," the Pakistani newspaper quoted Maulana Hidayat-Ur-Rehman.
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been marred with controversy since the announcement of the USD 46 billion projects in 2015.
The CPEC project would link Pakistan's southern Gwadar port in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China's western Xinjiang region. It also includes plans to create road, rail and oil pipeline links to improve connectivity between China and the Middle East.
Since the start of CPEC, it has prompted demonstrations, claiming that projects will not benefit the people of Balochistan while people of other provinces are enjoying the fruits of the mega project.
The protest which started in November last year came to a halt in December after the government agreed to the demands of the people protesting the illegal fishing of trawlers in Gwadar.
