The Pakistan government has been working to provide security to projects at the port of Gwadar, a focal point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that both countries hope can be protected from potentially hostile foreign forces in the region.
The government wants the port to be fully operational by the end of the year, but security is a primary concern for investors and developers in Pakistan, whose neighbors include India, Afghanistan and Iran.
Gwadar has one of Pakistan’s lowest crime rates, but hostile neighboring intelligence agencies remain a threat to security, according to Tufail Baloch, deputy commissioner of Gwadar District.
Pakistan has promised to provide full security coverage to companies working on the port’s development. And China in turn is reportedly providing help to Pakistan for security along the multi-billion-dollar Economic Corridor’s land and sea routes.
But experts say that with the arrival of commercial activity in Gwadar, there will be a need to enhance the existing set-up. For these reasons, the Pakistan army has raised a new division to patrol the 3,000 kilometers of the CPEC including Gwadar port.
