In a mysterious move, the latest and most expensive Gwadar International Airport in Pakistan sits empty with no passengers or planes. Built entirely with Chinese investment, the airport is a key project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under the Belt and Road Initiative, yet no one knows when it will become operational.
The airport, located in the coastal city of Gwadar, was completed in October 2024, costing $240 million, starkly contrasting the surrounding impoverished and volatile Balochistan province.
Over the past decade, China has invested billions of dollars in Balochistan and Gwadar as part of the CPEC, aiming to connect Xinjiang province to the Arabian Sea. However, despite China claiming it as a transformative project, Gwadar shows little signs of change. The city lacks access to the national power grid, relying on electricity from neighboring Iran or solar panels, with a scarcity of clean water.
A massive airport capable of accommodating 400,000 passengers is not a priority for the city’s 90,000 residents.
“This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar port,” said international relations expert Azeem Khalid, specializing in Pakistan-China relations. “It is for China, so that they can safely access Gwadar port and Balochistan.”
The CPEC in resource-rich and strategically located Balochistan has triggered decades-long insurgencies. Separatists believe the Pakistani government is exploiting locals, fueling anger and pushing for independence, often targeting Pakistani military and Chinese workers in the province and elsewhere.
Members of Balochistan’s minority ethnic groups claim discrimination by the government, being deprived of opportunities available elsewhere in the country, although officials deny these allegations.
Authorities in Pakistan have increased military presence in Gwadar to suppress dissenters. The city is littered with checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, roadblocks, and watchtowers. Roads are sporadically closed each week to ensure safe passage for Chinese workers and Pakistani dignitaries.
Journalists visiting Gwadar are under surveillance. The city’s fish market is considered too sensitive for coverage.
Many locals are exhausted by the status quo.
“No one used to ask where we were going, what we were doing, what our names were,” said 76-year-old Gwadar resident Khuda Bakhsh Hashim. “We used to enjoy overnight picnics in the mountains or countryside.”
“We are asked to prove our identity, who we are, where we come from,” he added. “We are residents. Those asking should state their own identities.”
Hashim reminisced about a time when Gwadar was part of Oman, serving as a stop for passenger ships heading to Mumbai, with memories as warm as winter sunlight. People weren’t sleepless from hunger, and men easily found work. There was always food, and water was plentiful.
However, due to drought and unchecked development, Gwadar’s water resources have dried up, and job opportunities have dwindled.
The Pakistani government claims the CPEC has created around 2,000 local jobs. However, it’s unclear who they refer to as “locals” – whether Balochistan residents or people from other parts of Pakistan – with authorities failing to provide specifics.
Gwadar is simple yet charming, with delicious food and locals who warmly engage with strangers. During public holidays, it bustles with activity, especially at the beach.
Nevertheless, people still view traveling to Gwadar as dangerous or challenging. The city’s domestic airport has only one commercial route, flying thrice weekly to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city located on the opposite end of the country’s Arabian Sea coastline.
There are no direct flights to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan hundreds of miles inland, or to the country’s capital, Islamabad, further north. A picturesque coastal highway lacks amenities.
Since the Balochistan insurgency erupted fifty years ago, thousands have gone missing. Locals fear detention for any dissent against exploitation or oppression, suspected of having ties to armed groups.
Locals are on edge. Activists claim forced disappearances and torture exist, which the government denies.
Hashim once hoped the CPEC would provide locals, especially the youth, with jobs, hope, and purpose, all of which remain unrealized.
“Why choose the wrong path when you have something to eat,” he remarked. “Provoking others is not a good thing.”
According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, armed violence in Balochistan decreased after government counter-insurgency operations in 2014 but has gradually risen since the 2020s.
After a ceasefire agreement between the Pakistani Taliban and the government ended in November 2022, attacks have increased steadily. This move has radicalized extremist groups, particularly the Baloch Liberation Army.
The inauguration ceremony of the international airport was delayed due to security concerns. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a virtual ceremony.
Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, chairman of the Baloch People’s Party in the region, stated that no Gwadar residents were employed at the airport, “not even as guards.”
“How many Baloch are working at this port built for the CPEC?” he questioned.
International relations expert Khalid noted that without local labor, goods, or services, the CPEC would bring no trickle-down effects. As Chinese funds pour into Gwadar, stringent security measures follow, creating obstacles and deepening mistrust.