Pak turning Gwadar into open prison on China’s order

THE GWADAR port, WHICH will BE DEVELOPED As A military BASE, ALREADY HAS A significant number of men From THE PLAN Marine Corps, sources tell The Sunday Guardian.

Under pressure from China, which is worried about the safety of its men and machine stationed at the strategic Gwadar port, Pakistan has started erecting a wall of barbed fencing around Gwadar city. This, when completed, will seal off the heart of Gwadar city, leaving only one entry point and one exit point for the city’s residents.

The Gwadar port, located on the coast of Arabian Sea in the Balochistan province, is being used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and will be developed as a military base in the coming years. A “significant” number of men from the People’s Liberation

Army Navy Marine Corps are already deployed at the port, local sources told The Sunday Guardian.

Sources said that the fencing, which will be completed within a month, is being done from a fund of Pakistani Rs 1,475.9 million, which has been allotted by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives for “Gwadar Safe City Project Phase-i”.

Sources said that the entire area from Coastal Highway to Zero Point Gwadar is to be closed off with fencing. The fencing starts from Pishukan village, passes the Balochistan Broadway Road, and Gwadar Airport, thus encircling all the villages that lie in between. Once completed, a local source said, it will turn

Gwadar into an open prison.

Local Gwadar-based sources, including government officials, who spoke to The Sunday Guardian, said that these barbed fences that are approximately 10 feet in height, will, in the first phase, cover an area of around 30 sq km, and will have close to 600 surveillance cameras at suitable distances to ensure that anyone coming near the fence or trying to enter the city, apart from those authorized entry, is spotted and taken down.

Pakistan came under increased pressure from China to increase safety measures around the city following the May 2019 Pearl Continental hotel attack, which sits on the “Koh e Batil” hill over