China agrees to run Gwadar Port

As Pakistan, in a changed diplomatic environment following the US operation in Abbottabad, made the strategic decision of asking the Chinese government to take over operational control of Gwadar Port – a request Beijing accepted in a trice – Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani rejected the federal government’s decision to the shock of many in Islamabad. “We (the provincial government) have the capacity to manage and run the port,” a private TV channel quoted the chief minister as saying. He was also quoted as saying that the provincial government was not taken into confidence on the decision. Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar announced on Saturday that the Chinese government had accepted Pakistan’s request to begin running Gwadar Port immediately after the terms of agreement with the Singapore Port Authority ended.
Gwadar Port was built by the Chinese and was inaugurated in 2007 by former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf. Reportedly, the US administration had objected to Pakistan’s plans of handing over the operational control of the port to a Chinese company and wanted a US company to run it. However, Musharraf was against the idea, and in order to resolve the issue Pakistan gave the operational command of the port to a Singaporean company. In a statement issued here, Mukhtar, who was part of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s official entourage to China, said China was an all-weather friend and the closest ally of Pakistan, and this could be judged by the fact that the Chinese government immediately agreed to provide assistance in whichever sectors Pakistan requested it during Gilani’s recent visit.
Mukhtar said he had raised and discussed some important strategic and economic issues during the meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.“Pakistan requested frigates of 4,400 tonnes on credit basis. We also expressed the desire that the Chinese government could train our personnel on submarines. Pakistan is grateful to the Chinese government for constructing the Gwadar Port. However, we would be more grateful to the Chinese government if a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan,” he added.
He said Gilani had told his Chinese counterpart that their programme of JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft was going successfully, but it would be better if the People’s Liberation Army would induct the aircraft into its air fleet as well. “This would give a lot of publicity to our aircraft and we would be able to sell a larger quantity to bring down the cost. The Chinese government also agreed to our request to equip our air force with FC-20 aircraft,” the minister said in the statement.
He said the Chinese premier was pleased to discuss his government’s help in repairing Attaabad Lake and Karakorum Highway, once the clarification regarding these projects were given to the Chinese government. “We agreed on the point that stability had to be achieved in the region by the joint efforts of both Pakistan and China and by defeating the terrorists in the region,” he added. The minister said further that Pakistan had asked China to convey a message to the US government that Pakistan’s sovereignty should be respected. “The Chinese government assured that it would help us remove all the bottlenecks in the way of our prosperity,” he added.  

The minister said Pakistan considered a peaceful and stable Afghanistan in the interest of Pakistan and the whole region. “Pakistan supports a stable government in Kabul which should be Afghan-owned,” he added.