Abstract
Makuran was established as a division in July 1977and it is the third largest administrative division of Balochistan and second largest in terms of population. It is the heartland through which more than 700 km of the coveted China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes, linking Gwadar with RCD Highway in Kuzdar. This paper focuses on the strategic importance of Makuran vis-à-vis its strategic Gwadar Deep Sea port in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean which lies just outside of the Strait of Hormouz which is gateway to world’s 20-25% oil trade into the international markets. Gwadar is an important warm-water port in Indian Ocean which is believed to be the future gateway towards the oil-rich Middle East, mineral-rich Africa and the highly-developed Europe. Currently, Gwadar is under control of China and it aspires to connect Chinese mainland to the Middle East and onward via much talked-about CPEC. This study attempts to evaluate that how Gwadar port provides easy connectivity to major strategic areas and help China to exert its expanding strategic influence in Indian Ocean and the adjacent areas including Gulf States and Middle East. The aim of the paper is to highlight the significance of CPEC for Balochistan in the light of the strategic importance of Makuran which bridges Pakistan with Middle East. This study also analyses the emerging security challenges from the arch-rivals of China and Pakistan towards the much talked about CPEC. Those security challenges can best be minimized by sharing the prospects of the CPEC among all provinces equally
Fahmida Mehrab, Mansoor Ahmed, Jalal Faiz PhD, Raja Qaiser. (2017) Makuran: Gateway to Middle East, Balochistan Review, Volume 2, Issue 2.
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