Pakistan: ‘Gwadar’s security to be entrusted to police’ in wake of large-scale protests

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 14 (ANI): The top military commander in Pakistan’s Balochistan province has said that Gwadar’s security would be completely entrusted to the police in the next four months, in the wake of massive protests in the region.

The military commander said the armed forces would be confined to their stations and not be seen in the city, according to the Dawn newspaper. “The chief of the army staff would also visit the port city soon,” said Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor, commander of Pakistan’s XII Corps, during a gathering in Gwadar on Thursday. According to the Dawn report, this decision was reached after the corps commander met leaders of political parties, journalists, business people, and citizens at Gwadar Cricket Stadium and held meetings with senior security forces officials.

Lt Gen Ghafoor said that Gwadar “is our home and it should not be damaged” and that no one would be allowed to block roads and paralyse the city’s government machinery and development work.
The Pakistan office added that problems could only be resolved by working together and not through sit-ins and protests.

Tensions continued to simmer in the Pakistan port city with protests continuing after clashes with supporters of the ‘Haq Do Tehreek’ (HDT). The clashes occurred in the last two months between locals and security forces in Gwadar as protests against illegal fishing turned violent after some people were arrested.

A total of 100 people have been arrested in Gwadar as the provincial government struck with an iron fist at protesters and imposed an emergency law that prohibits gathering five or more people.

Last month, a London-based rights group has expressed alarm over reports of mass arrests and the imposition of emergency law in Gwadar following large-scale protests against “illegal fishing through trawlers”.

“Amnesty International is alarmed by reports of mass arrests and the imposition of emergency law following protests in Gwadar. People have the right to express discontent peacefully and the state has an obligation to facilitate this right,” Amnesty International said in a statement posted on its Twitter handle.
The group said putting a “blanket ban on all forms of public gatherings amounts to repression of the right to protest and sends a chilling message that there is no room for dissent.”

“It is imperative that the Government of Pakistan upholds the human rights of everyone, including their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in the country,” the statement added.