QUETTA: A former speaker of the Balo­chistan Assembly has expressed dismay over terms of the federal government’s agreement on Gwadar Port with China and called for a review of the accord.

According to a statement made in the Senate, China is set to get 91 per cent of the revenue generated from the port while the remaining 9pc will go to the port — a federally controlled authority — for the next 40 years.

Former speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani said that people had been told that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would usher in an era of prosperity and a better life.

Gwadar was the jewel of CPEC, he said and added that “its land, deep sea and everything else belong to the people of Balochistan, who in return will be getting nothing out of the billion-dollar project”.

Former Balochistan Assembly speaker expresses dismay over terms of agreement on port

“The disclosure of [terms of] this agreement has reinforced our apprehensions and shows this will add to the suffering of the people of the province and the injustices they have faced,” he said.

The former speaker of the provincial legislature urged the federal government to revisit the CPEC agreement and protect the legitimate rights of the provinces.

“The international powers who have already expressed their reservations on CPEC may not be given the opportunity to make Balochistan a battlefield to settle their score and the only way forward is to make the people of Balochistan the real stockholders of the project…,” he said.

Mr Bhootani added that the Chinese companies should review their agreement and incorporate Balochistan’s share in the project as “the people of Balochistan love and respect the country’s friendship with its neighbour”.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2017