GWADAR: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that Gwadar port will play a vital role in making Pakistan an economic hub of the region.

He expressed these views during a visit, along with Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, to Gwadar port on Wednesday.

Earlier, Mr Buzdar arrived in Turbat on a daylong visit to Makran. The Balochistan chief minister, provincial ministers, Chief Secretary Fazeel Asghar and other senior officials welcomed him at Turbat airport.

Additional Chief Secre­t­a­­ry Planning and Devel­op­ment Abdul Rehman Buz­dar and Chair­man of the Gwadar Port Authority Naseer Ahmed Kashani briefed the Punjab chief minister about Gwadar port and other projects launched in the port city under the China-Pakis­tan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Mr Buzdar, who visited Makran for the first time after being elected as chief minister of Punjab, said that Gwadar port would emerge as a key port in the region and would play an import role in the economic development of Pakistan.

“A functional Gwadar Port would end sense of deprivation of the people of Balochistan,” he said. “A bright economic future of Pakistan as well as Balochistan lies in Gwadar port as the deep port is being considered the heart of the CPEC,” Mr Buzdar said.

He expressed optimism that the development of Gwadar would start in the near future. He lauded efforts of the Balochistan government in turning Gwadar into a modern city of Asia.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2020