Gwadar is going to be a costly pearl in our crown

It is heartening to note that the Gwadar port shall be operational by early next year. This port will see roughly one million tonnes of cargo going through it by 2017. Undoubtedly, Gwadar is the heart of China’s Pakistan Economic Corridor, a grand $46 billion project, giving Beijing a greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Europe through Pakistan. Besides, it will give a boost to local fishing industry for which a modern processing plant is being planned.
Not only our enemies but some of our friends too are not happy over the blossoming of Gwadar into an international harbour of the first order. When it would start working to its full capacity, it is going to upstage all other ports nearby to it like Dubai. No shopkeeper wants new shops coming up in its vicinity with more capacity to provide utilities to the consumers as it weans away a big chunk of its ongoing business. The earlier Gwadar becomes functional the better for our economy. The common man of this country is waiting with a bated breadth the early completion of the Pakistan Economic Corridor and he prays that the political situation in this country stays stable so that it gets completed on the scheduled date. Our enemy countries, particularly, India, would go the whole hog to torpedo it through its paid agents in Afghanistan, Balochistan and FATA in cahoots with its well wishers in the Kabul’s corridors of power, therefore, it would be of paramount importance if the government always remain alive to the situation and keep an eagle eye on their overt and covert activities.
POSTSCRIPT:As feared we are out of the Azlan Shah Hockey tournament after our disastrous performance in which we were beaten all ends up in almost all matches that we played in it. Pakistan is now a footnote in the history book of hockey. No plausible explanation can be given as to why our hockey is not picking up despite the fact that, lately, it is being headed by ace former olympians who are quite well versed with the ins and outs of our hockey and the demands of the current world hockey.