Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said it is important to secure Gwadar for the bright future of Pakistan.
Along with security measures, it is very important to address the reservations of the locals, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the security expenses can be reduced significantly if the people are satisfied there.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Gwadar should be connected to the national grid and given a local government system on the model of Dubai to solve the problems of the people.
He said that a modern business center has been built in Gwadar, free trade zone exists, the airport will become operational by the next year, the port is almost complete, and an expressway has also been built.
The hospital is being extended and a number of other developmental projects and being completed. This area is rich in natural beauty and it can become a tourist paradise that needs attention.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Gwadar is developing rapidly and will connect Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East with Pakistan through the sea and will play the role of a valuable trade hub for Pakistan.
But the locals are not getting the attention of the authorities which leads to unrest, which the anti-national elements take advantage of.
Taking advantage of the weaknesses they create a law and order problem and attack the Chinese which in turn affects the project, he observed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Gwadar is supplied with electricity from Iran which keeps getting interrupted, the local population does not get clean drinking water and there are other problems including unemployment.
If the local population has a stake in the development of Gwadar, their attitude towards the project will turn positive, while the establishment of a local government is also necessary so that the problems of the people can be solved in the presence of the Mayor, because the members of the National and Provincial Assembly are not paying due attention.
He said that due to the 18th amendment, many subjects and resources have devolved to provinces but the districts and tehsils are not getting resources from the provinces, due to which the people are being ignored and anger is arising among them.
In 1950, the population of Dubai was 20,000, now it is 3.5 million and it has become a major commercial center of the world, where bureaucracy acts as a facilitator in the system, while the biggest obstacle to the speedy development in Gwadar is our bureaucracy, he said.
