Geo-Strategic Importance of Pakistan

Importance of Pakistan due to Geo-Strategic Location.

You will often hear that Pakistan's geostrategic location is very important for the international economy and peace. Pakistan's role and importance for peace in this region are probably more than you think. As far as the war against terrorism is concerned, Pakistan has played the biggest role in this region and has reduced the scourge of terrorism in the country to a considerable extent.

For the development of any country, the maintenance of law and order in the country is the backbone and due to the efforts of Pakistan, economic stability started after the control of terrorism.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will not only strengthen Pakistan economically but will also play an important role in improving Pakistan's relations with other countries in the region. Pakistan's geostrategic importance in the region can be gauged from the fact that the Belt and Road Initiative is China's largest external project, under which it wants to connect China with the West by land route and the most important part of this project is CPEC

If it is said that only Pakistan has a role in the improvement of this region, it will not be wrong. Due to the deterioration of the peace situation in Afghanistan, the peace in the entire area has been affected. Pakistan, playing the role of a leader, intensified efforts for peace in Afghanistan, which yielded positive results. After what happened in Syria, Iraq, and Libya, we should realize that peace is the first thing to progress. The countries whose peace was destroyed were also destroyed and this is the reason why the enemies of Pakistan also made great efforts to destroy the peace of Pakistan, but the Pakistani nation and institutions together failed in these ambitions.

Due to the geostrategic location of Pakistan, a greater security risk is faced by Pakistan. After substantial control over terrorism, Pakistan's next target was economic stability. Let's look at the economic achievements of Pakistan:

• Pakistan Iran and Turkey train project.

• ML-1, the biggest railway project in Pakistan

• Pakistan and Russia gas pipeline project. 

• Gwadar port is fully functional under CPEC.

Pakistan is a fortunate country geographically. At the global level, Pakistan gain special importance. Despite being rich in natural resources, economic stagnation has always been a hindrance to the country's development. KP and Balochistan are the provinces that are most affected by terrorism. Due to political instability in Balochistan, the deteriorating law and order situation, and the lack of communication and industry, employment opportunities in the province are non-existent. In these circumstances, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an important step toward the development of the entire country, especially Balochistan. Gwadar is an important link in this step. Along with infrastructure, energy, and industry included in CPEC, the construction of Gwadar Port is an important milestone for the country's development.

It is said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the crown of the head of the BRI program and Gwadar is the crown of the CPEC. The history of CPEC starts in 2005 - when the construction of Gwadar Port was entrusted to the Chinese Port Holding Company. Due to the political policies and other reasons of the last sixty years, Pakistan suffered from an economic crisis due to infrastructure, and electricity. While CPEC will improve railways, industry, agriculture, electricity, social and educational fields in Pakistan, 60% of China's oil and gas trade is through the South China Sea. Currently, the southern parts of China have to cover a distance of 16,000 kilometers to transport goods by sea. With the construction of Gwadar port, this distance will be reduced to 2500 km.

Gwadar Port is now ready and operational. At present, the focus is on increasing the traffic at the port. As soon as the name of Gwadar comes to mind, the idea of ​​the sea comes to mind. It was a small fishing town that has now gained world attention due to its geographical importance. Shenzhen, China's first special economic zone, was also a fishing town and today it is considered one of the best industrial cities in the world.

The Indian Ocean is an important sea passage and Gwadar is located at the prime location of this commercial zone, Due to Gwadar Pakistan’s geostrategic importance is very clear before South Asia and the world. It is the third port of Pakistan. It is only 75 km away from the port of Chabahar in Iran. Gwadar is the only way to access Central Asian states. Similarly, Gwadar is an important port for trade in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Gwadar city will be the most important developed city in Pakistan in the near future. Gwadar Port Free Zone Phase-One which covers sixty acres has been developed. A total of 46 investors have come to the free zone so far. Gwadar Free Zone Phase-2 will consist of 22 hundred acres, 12 industrial units are still under construction in the free zone which has been completed in the first phase. Another aspect of the importance of Gwadar is the employment opportunities for the residents of Balochistan and Gwadar city and for those who come and settle in it.

1,200 people have got permanent jobs in the free zone and 12,000 people have got employment in the last 2-3 years in the development of the port and free zone. The free zone is being developed under the plan in four phases from 2015 to 2030. And the free zone will play a key role in the country's economic development.

• East Bay Expressway.

• New Gwadar International Airport. 

• China Pakistan Friendship Hospital. 

• Gwadar Technical and Vocational Institute.

Are rapidly completing the preparatory stages. The completion of Gwadar East Bay Expressway under CPEC is almost complete. The construction of the East Bay Expressway will be a major development for Gwadar Port through which the entire traffic flow will be created for the port. The Near East Bay Expressway will connect the Gwadar port and its free zone to the national highway network. 2.26 billion projects is being initiated for the environment and sewage system.

Clean drinking water and electricity problems are prominent in Gwadar. Gwadar managed by CPEC is a very important project. There is a lot of clean water problem in Gwadar. Currently, 5 million gallons of clean water are being delivered to people daily by tankers. Two and a half million gallons of additional water will be available in a few months and thus the problem will be substantially overcome. In the third phase, clean water will be delivered to the public through a regular water system, which is rapidly being worked on.

Similarly, a project is being started to make 5 million gallons of sea salt water usable and potable at a cost of 4.3 billion rupees. This will solve the problem of clean drinking water in Gwadar forever. A breakwater construction project is being started to further improve Gwadar Port at a cost of 46 billion rupees.

Another important problem is the shortage of electricity in Gwadar. At the same time, 110 MW of electricity is available while the requirement is 150 MW. The work of supplying electricity to Gwadar city from the main trans main line has started and the preparation for setting up a 300 MW coal power plant is also in the final stages. In view of the importance of Gwadar port, all the government's attention is on the completion of this project.