Scores of individuals took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the uninformed drone surveillance in the city. The protestors said that the security forces are flying video drones in the city and trespassing on the privacy of their households. The fishermen alleged that the Pakistani security forces are deliberately vandalizing their boats, ostensibly to put a halt on fishing, the only source of income for thousands of families in Gwadar.
The protestors complained that they are being harassed by the Pakistani security forces for petty reasons. They said that despite living for decades in the city, the security forces stop them at the numerous checkpoints dotting the city and ask for their identity cards. One old man told The Balochistan Post that he was taking his sick grandchild to a clinic when he was stopped by the Pakistani forces who asked for his ID card, which he had left at the home in the hurry. They did not let him pass and sent him to his home to fetch the identity card.
The protestors said that the surveillance has taken a grim turn – the security forces are now flying video drones in the city to check on their houses. They said that this is a flagrant breach of the privacy of their household as their homes are being filmed without their consent. The protestors appealed to the authorities to take notice of the issue.
The issue of drone surveillance also found its way to the Balochistan assembly. Speaking at the point of order in the assembly, opposition leader Sikandar Advocate said that flying video drones in Gwadar is trespassing on the privacy of the Baloch households. He condemned the practice and asked the authorities to immediately take notice of the issue.
Addressing the assembly, MPA Hammal Kalamti said that the fishermen in Gwadar are being harassed and the practice has now become unbearable. He suggested the formation of a parliamentary body to investigate the issue and resolve the grievances of the fishermen.
One fisherman told The Balochistan Post that almost 12,000 boats operate in Gwadar, and almost a third of them are owned by the local fishermen. He said that these boats are a lifeline for thousands of families in Gwadar who eke out a meagre living from them.
He complained that the security forces have not set up a specific time for the fishing in the sea on the pretext of security issues. He said that the rise in the number of security forces in the city has negatively affected their quality of life.
Numerous others have also expressed concerns: in a viral video on social media, an elderly woman from Gwadar can be heard complaining that the security forces are restricting them from fishing in the sea. She says that the forces are also restricting the movement of civilians throughout the city.
The agitated fishermen unanimously rejected the curfew on fishing. A large body of the fishermen, led by religious leader Hidayat Ullah Rehman, met with a delegation of the Pakistani security forces to discuss their issues. The fishermen told the forces’ delegation that they will not accept the blatant violation of their privacy. The fishermen said that all this “extra security” is being provided to the Chinese nationals who are now omnipresent in Gwadar and working on several CPEC projects. They complained that the influx of Chinese citizens in Gwadar has become a source of distress for the locals.