On October 14, the inaugural ceremony of the Gwadar International Airport was held 2,000 kilometers away in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, instead of Gwadar due to security concerns. The event was led by Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where the virtual inauguration of the Gwadar Airport took place.
The Gwadar Airport is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. However, this multi-billion dollar Chinese initiative is viewed by Baloch political and armed groups as an exploitative project. In response, political parties are protesting on various platforms both domestically and internationally, while Baloch armed separatist groups have consistently targeted economic and military installations associated with the CPEC.
The Chinese Prime Minister considers the completion of the Gwadar International Airport an important milestone. However, the virtual inauguration taking place in Islamabad rather than Gwadar indicates that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and other Chinese projects are not safe in Balochistan, and Pakistan has failed to ensure the security of these projects.
During the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Islamabad, the virtual inauguration of the Gwadar International Airport and the bilateral meeting between Li Qiang and Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the need to take “targeted security measures” to “jointly create a secure environment.” This underscores that China is concerned about the success of its projects.
This announcement sends a clear message to the world and global investors that exploitative projects will not be acceptable without the consent and approval of the Baloch nation, and that such projects cannot succeed in Balochistan through force.