Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman, the leader of the ‘Gwadar Ko Haq Do’ movement held a press conference in the Quetta Press Club where he warned the Balochistan government that he will carry out a long march to Quetta if the accord he signed with the government for ending the month-long movement is not implemented. Senior leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami-Balochistan, Dr Ataur Rehman, Maulana Noorullah and others were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Rehman said that one of the primary demands of the Haq Do movement was the release of the Baloch missing persons. The government so far has made no progress in this regard. He said that the removal of unnecessary security check-posts, eradication of drug trafficking, ending the misuse of the natural resources of Balochistan and giving Balochistan the due share in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were also the demands of the Haq Do movement.
Rehman accused the provincial minister of fisheries of taking bribes and allowing illegal fishing in the coastal areas of Balochistan. “Bureaucracy is serious in solving problems of the province, but the political leadership is not showing any seriousness in this regard”, he said.
Earlier in January, Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman accused the government of not taking the demands seriously. He said that the security forces are still humiliating the people in Gwadar and illegal fishing is once again on the rise along the Makran coast. He said that the border trade system has not been changed and the issue of the Baloch missing persons remains as grave as ever.
The ‘Gwadar Ko Haq Do’ movement started in November of 2021 and went on for over a month. Thousands of protestors, led by Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman, went on the streets to demand an end to the issues festering Gwadar for the past several years. People from Turbat, Ormara, Pasni and other adjacent areas poured into Gwadar to join the protest.
The protest continued for 32 days and several rounds of negotiations with the provincial government and the leaders of the movement failed. Some leaders of the movement, like Mir Yousaf Masti Khan, were arrested for “anti-state” remarks. The forces also tried to apprehend Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman but the protestors intervened and the plan was thwarted.
The government finally struck a deal with the leaders of the Haq Do movement and agreed to meet all their demands within a month. Rehman called off the protests but warned that if the government fails to implement the reforms, he will carry out a long march to Quetta. And now that several demands of the movement are unmet, the prospect of a long march is likelier than ever.