Gwadar

The inhabitation of Gwadar, like most of the other areas of Balochistan, appears to be ancient. The area shows inhabitation as early as the Bronze Age with settlements around some of the area's oasis. It is from this settlement pattern that the word Makran, the original name of Balochistan, is derived. For a period, it was a region of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy of Gedrosia was Pura, which is thought to have been located near the modern Bampūr, in Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral, Nearchus, led a fleet along the modern-day Makran coast and recorded that the area was dry, mountainous, and inhabited by the "Ichthyophagoi" (or "fish-eaters"), an ancient Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase "Mahi Khorana," which has itself become the modern word "Makran".[19] After the collapse of Alexander's empire the area was ruled by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander's generals. The region then came under Mauryan rule around 303 BCE, after Seleucus made peace with Emperor Chandragupta and ceded the territory to the Mauryans.

Omani Gwadar
1783–1958
Flag Coat of arms
Status	Omani overseas possession
Capital	Gwadar
Common languages	Balochi Also spoken; Brahui, Arabic, others
Sultan
• 1783	Sultan bin Ahmad (first)
• 1932	Said bin Taimur (last)
Wali
• (1783 - 1958)	Saif Bin Ali (first) Eshan Azim (last) [20]
History
• Cessation by the Khan of Kalat	1783
• Sold to West Pakistan	1958
Currency	Omani rial Pakistani rupee
Preceded by Succeeded by Khanate of Kalat West Pakistan
Today part of	Balochistan, Pakistan

The region remained on the sidelines of history for a millennium until the Arab-Muslim army captured Makran in CE 643 and over the intervening (and nearly equivalent) amount of time the area was contested by various powers. This was then followed by almost two centuries of local rule by the various Baloch tribes. The city was visited by Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis in the 1550s and mentioned in his book Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557.[21] According to Seydi Ali Reis, the inhabitants of Gwadar were Baloch and their chief was Malik Jelaleddin, son of Malik Dinar.

In the 15th century the Portuguese conquered parts of India and Oman. They planned to proceed with annexation of the coastal area of Makran. They attacked Gwadar under the leadership of Vasco de Gama, but under the supervision of Commander Mir Ismaheel Baloch, the Portuguese were defeated by the Baloch. A few times the Portuguese looted and set the coastal villages on fire, but they failed to capture Gwadar. Cannons of the Portuguese army were found lying near the Central Jail of Gwadar. The grave of Mir Ismaheel Baloch is situated near the Mountain of Batal Gwadar, constructed by Mir Ismaheel Baloch himself during life. He died in 873 Hijri, heirless.[22] By the end of the 16th century, Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great conquered the city along with all of Balochistan after the Battle of Sehwan. It remained under Mughal control until early 18th century.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch, granted suzerainty over Gwadar to Sultan bin Ahmad, the ruler of Muscat.[23] When the sultan subsequently retook Muscat, he was to continue his rule in Gwadar by appointing a wali (or "governor"). This wali was then ordered to subjugate the nearby coastal town of Chabahar (now in Iran). The Gwadar fort was built during Omani rule. In the middle of the 18th century, Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch captured Gwadar and its surrounding areas after defeating the Gichki Baloch tribe and included it in the Kalat Khanate. However, realizing that maintaining control of the area will be difficult without the support of the Gichkis, Mir Nasir entered into an agreement with the local Gichki Chief, which allowed the Gichkis to maintain administrative control of the area, in return for furnishing half the collected revenues to Kalat, this arrangement continued till 1783. When Saiad Sultan fell out with his brother, the ruler of Muscat, and asked for help, Mir Noori Naseer Khan handed over Gwadar, as part of his share of revenues, to Saiad Sultan for his maintenance with the understanding that the area be returned to Kalat, when Saiad Sultan acquires the throne. Saiad Sultan ascended to the throne of Muscat in 1797 but never returned Gwadar enclave to Kalat. The ensuing struggle between the heirs of the Sultan and Khan of Kalat for possession of Gwadar, allowed the British to intervene. Telegraph lines were later extended into the town courtesy of the British. The main two Wali of Gwadar were Saif Bin Ali (First) and Eshan Azim (Last) from 1783-1958.[24]

The British after extracting concessions from the Sultan for the use of the area facilitated Muscat to retain Gwadar. Later on, the British claimed that the area was granted to the Sultan by Mir Nasir, however, local accounts and the declassified documents of that time challenge this claim.[25] From 1863 to 1879, Gwadar was the headquarters of a British Assistant Political Agent. Gwadar was a fortnightly port of call for the British India Steamship Navigation Company's steamers and included a combined Post & Telegraph Office.

In 1952, Makran acceded to the newly created Dominion of Pakistan and was made a district – but Gwadar at that time was not included in Makran. In 1958, Gwadar and its surrounding areas were transferred by Oman to Pakistan by the efforts of Prime Minister of Pakistan Feroz Khan Noon and his wife Viqar-un-Nisa Noon.[26] It was given the status of a Tehsil of Makran district. On 1 July, 1977, Makran District was upgraded into a division and was divided into three districts of Turbat (Kech since 1994–95), Panjgur and Gwadar.

Gwadar underwent major development from 2002 to 2007. In 2002, Pakistan's National Highway Authority (NHA) began construction of the 653 km-long Makran Coastal Highway linking Gwadar with Karachi via Pasni and Ormara and onwards with the rest of the National Highways of Pakistan, which was completed in 2004. In 2003, the Gwadar Development Authority was established to oversee the planning and development of Gwadar and Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority was established to promote industrial activities in mega port city of Gwadar.[27] In 2004, NHA began construction of the 820-km long M-8 motorway linking Gwadar with Ratodero in Sindh province via Turbat, Hoshab, Awaran, and Khuzdar and onwards with the rest of the Motorways of Pakistan. In 2006, the Gwadar Development Authority conceived, developed, and adopted a 50-year Master Plan for Gwadar,[28] which was inspired by the Chinese port city of Shenzhen.[29] In 2007, the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan acquired 1,700 ha (4,300 acres) to construct a new greenfield airport, the New Gwadar International Airport 2,400 ha (6,000 acres), at an estimated cost of US$246 million.[30] It is expected to be operational by September 2023.

On 3 June, 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the 19.49 km, six-lane Gwadar East Bay Expressway, which was developed as an early harvest project under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.[31] The expressway connects the Gwadar Port with the Makran Coastal Highway, thus improving connectivity and helping the transportation of goods towards Karachi.[31] Other developments include 100MW Electricity import from Iran, multiple Housing Schemes, 5-star Hotels, Expo Centre, Desalination Plants on Arabian Sea, Pak-China Friendship Hospital, Aramco Oil Refinery (foreign investment from Saudi Arabia) and an ICC Standard Cricket Stadium.

Gwadar is located on a narrow and sandy isthmus which connects the 150 m (480 ft) foot tall Gwadar Promontory to the Makran coastline.

Fishing boats in Gwadar East Bay with the Koh-e-Mehdi Hills in the background

Aerial view of Gwadar city

Gwadar is situated on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan in Gwadar District of Balochistan province. Like Ormara further east, Gwadar is situated on a natural hammerhead-shaped tombolo peninsula forming two almost perfect, but naturally curved, semicircular bays on either side. The city is situated on a narrow and sandy 12 km-long (7 mi) isthmus which connects the Pakistani coast to rocky outcroppings in the Arabian sea known as the Gwadar Promontory, or Koh-e-Batil, which reach an elevation of 150 m (480 ft) and extend 11 km (7 mi) east to west with a breadth of 1.5 km (1 mi).[32] The 240 m (800 ft) wide isthmus upon which Gwadar is located separates the two almost perfect semicircular bays from one another. The western bay is known as the Paddi Zirr, and is generally shallow with an average depth of 3.7 m (12 ft), and a maximum depth of 9.1 m (30 ft).[32] To the east of the isthmus is the deepwater Demi Zirr harbour, where the Gwadar Port was built.

As Gwadar was part of Sultanate of Oman during the British rule, it was excluded from all the censuses of British India. According to the records of Oman from 1945, the Gwadar city had a population of 5,875.[33] The population of the city has risen to approximately 85,000 as of 2014.[34] In the 2017 census, Gwadar city had a total population of 90,762.[35] Currently in 2020 it is estimated to be 138,000.The population of Gwadar is predominantly Baloch.[36][37]

Gwadar has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Oceanic influence from the cool currents of the Arabian Sea moderates temperatures, resulting in notably cooler summer temperatures compared to areas inland and cities in the Persian Gulf such as Dubai. The Arabian Sea also moderates winter temperatures, resulting in warmer winter nights as compared to inland areas.

The mean temperature in the hottest month (June) remains between 31 °C and 32 °C. The mean temperature in the coolest month (January) varies from 18 °C to 19 °C. The uniformity of temperature is a unique characteristic of the Makran Coastal region. Occasionally, winds moving down the Balochistan plateau bring brief cold spells, otherwise the winter is pleasant. In Gwadar, winters are shorter than summers. Although Gwadar is situated outside the monsoon belt, it receives light monsoon showers in summer (June–August). However, in winter, Western Disturbance can cause heavy rainfall. Annual rainfall is only 100 mm (3 inches). In June 2010, Gwadar was lashed by Cyclone Phet with record-breaking rains of 372 mm and winds up to 121 km/h (75 mph).

Gwadar is divided into 5 union councils,[42] which are further subdivided into wards:[43][44]

• Gwadar Central
  • Gazrawan
  • Komagri
  • Mohallah Zahoor Shah
  • Saleh Muhammad
  • Sohrabi
  • Usmania
• South Gwadar
  • Kamari
  • Mohallah Karim Bakhsh
  • Mohallah Shahdu Band
  • Mullah Band
  • Murad Bakhsh
  • Sarabi
  • Sheikh Umar
  • Tobagh
• North Gwadar
  • Lal Baksh
  • Mohalla Baloch
  • Mohalla Mir Abdul Ghafoor
  • Mujahid
• Pishukan
• Surbandar

The construction on a $20 billion 10-square kilometre tax exempt industrial zone began on 20 June 2016.[15] The zone includes a 300MW coal powerplant exclusive for the industrial zone.[47] Despite Chinese investment, much of this development, including the power plant, remains unfinished.[48]

The Chinese share of revenue generated from Gwadar Port would be 91% while Pakistan will get 9% share.[4] China has a great strategic interest in Gwadar. In 2013, the state-owned China Overseas Port Holdings Limited acquired Gwadar Port.[49] The port is strategically important for China as sixty percent of China's oil comes from the Persian Gulf by ships traveling over 16,000 km (9,900 mi) in two to three months, confronting pirates, bad weather, political rivals, and other risks up to its only commercial port, Shanghai. Gwadar will reduce the distance to a mere 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and also operate year-round.[50]

China is heavily dependent on Persian Gulf oil which passes through the Strait of Malacca all the way through the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Once the oil reaches China's east coast ports, it is transported thousands of kilometres inland to western China. The Gwadar port–Karakoram Highway (KKH) route is sometimes said to be safer, cheaper and shorter than transporting the oil by ocean tanker. However, research suggests that transporting oil by roadways from Gwadar to China would be very expensive, would encounter numerous logistical difficulties such as mountainous terrain, earthquakes, disputes with India, and potential terrorist attacks, and would barely make any impact on China's overall energy security,[51] though Pakistan intends to build an oil pipeline to northern Pakistan that may allay much of these concerns.

Chinese goods flowing in the opposite direction may be able to find an easier, shorter and secure route to the Middle East. The city is also being developed as an export processing zone for foreign companies to manufacture in Gwadar before exporting to various countries in the region.[52]

Gwadar International Airport, under construction, in 2022.

Due to the Chinese interest in the Gwadar Port, Pakistan believes that Gwadar will become a regional hub. Prime Minister Imran Khan laid down the foundation stone for the New Gwadar International Airport (NGIAP) at Gwadar on 29 March 2019.[53][54] New Gwadar International Airport is located in Gurandani, and is around 26 km (16 mi) northeast of Gwadar City proper, Balochistan Province. It is expected to cost $246 million and, with an area of 1,700 ha (4,300 acres), will be able to handle larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380.[30] The new airport will cater to domestic and international flights, and will have an open skies policy.

It will be a greenfield airport, with a cargo terminal handling capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year. The single runway will measure 3,658 m (12,001 ft) in length with a width of 75 m (246 ft), to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft; if needed in the near future, there is the likely potential for a second runway to be constructed.[55] The CAA Pakistan has awarded the design and construction contract to the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), and the facilities are expected to be operational by September of 2023.[56][57]