Pakistan’s second-largest port after Karachi. Gwadar Land city of Balochistan is located in Balochistan Province, about 300 miles from Karachi and 45 miles from the Pak-Iran border.
The city was part of the state of Makran in the early 17th century. In 1778 this city came under the rule of Khan of Kalat. In 1981, Syed Sultan bin Nasir Khan, a prince of Muscat rebelled against his father and took refuge in Makran.
History of Gwadar
The Khan of Kalat handed over the annual income of Gwadar to the prince for his livelihood.
After his father’s death in 1792, the prince became Sultan of Muscat. He maintained his hold on Gwadar even though he was no longer in need of Gwadar’s income.
This situation persisted when the British occupied Kalat. Gwadar was also part of Muscat and Oman at the time of the establishment of Pakistan.
Immediately after its formation, Pakistan raised its voice for the recovery of Gwadar and in 1949 talks were held to resolve the issue which ended without any decision.
When Feroze Khan Noon became Pakistan’s foreign minister in 1956, he raised the issue again through the British government.
When he became the Prime Minister of the country in 1957, he raised the legal point that Gwadar has the status of a jagir.
Since the government of Pakistan has revoked all the jagirs that the British government had given to many people for their services or for other political reasons, the Gwadar jagir could also be revoked.
The British government supported Pakistan’s position and after paying compensation for their help, the Gwadar area joined Pakistan on September 8, 1958. After the abolition of One Unit on July 1, 1970, the city of Gwadar became part of the Balochistan Province and became part of the Makran District.
In 1977, the city was given the status of a district due to its commercial and coastal importance. It is bounded on the north by Khuzdar and Turbat districts, on the south by Behr e Arab, on the east by Lasbela district, and on the west by Iran.
The district has four tehsils Mara, Pasni, Gwadar, and Jwani and all four of them have ports. Apart from the four ports in the 300-square-mile Gwadar district, there are 32 small and large villages and settlements.
From 1988 to 1992, the government of Pakistan built a small port in Gwadar. It was later decided to expand it so that China could ship goods to the Middle East and Europe via Gwadar port. Thus, from 2002 to 2006, a four-berth port was built.
Now a major port with more new berths is under construction. In early 2013, the Chinese government took control of the port. With the completion of the state-of-the-art free port, the city will gain international fame.
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