How did Gwadar become a part of Oman and how did it get to Pakistan?
Among the published sections of the Pakistan government's report on the historical and geographical status of Gwadar, the strongest emphasis was placed on the fact that the state of Kalat never owned the area. This is evidenced by several historical documents and the book 'Wanderings in Baluchistan' published in the 19th century by a British traveler Major General Sir Charles Matt Keefe MacGregor. According to this book, this area has been a part of Makran since the time of Alexander the Great.
As a result of internecine fighting and strife among the Baloch chiefs, the Gachki chiefs of Makran accepted their suzerainty from the state of Kalat under an agreement stipulating that they would not interfere in their internal affairs.
This was before the arrival of the Omani prince Saeed Sultan in this region.
After the failure of Prince Saeed in the war of succession, in the year 1783, he reached 'Zak', a village of Merwari tribe in Makran via Kawada, and the chief of the tribe, Dad Karim Yerwari, met him with the Khan of Kalat.
Prince Saeed wanted military support in this battle for the throne, but the local chieftains, rather than take part in Oman's internal fighting, gave up the Gwadar region on the condition that if their power was restored, they would Gwadar will be handed over to Gachki chiefs.
This is also confirmed by the Balochistan Gazetteer which states in Volume No. 7 that: 'Gwadar Ba Aarit Amanat Wada' means Gwadar was entrusted to the Prince of Oman as a trust.
The documents submitted by Pakistan for the acquisition of Gwadar also include a reference to the report of an Afghan Haji Abdul Ghani. Haji Abdul Ghani's interest in this matter actually hurts the British government in Gwadar.
When Afghanistan invaded this area in 1939, the British Resident General at Kalat hired this Afghan citizen to compile this report. A report published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1939 also suggests that this area was historically a part of Makran and owned by the Kachki Balochs.
The integration of Gwadar into Pakistan was announced by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Feroze Khan Noon in the Parliament session and told the nation that the Sultan of Oman Hazrat Saeed bin Taimur had handed over this area to Pakistan free of charge in the spirit of goodwill. Which was naturally a part of Pakistan ethnically, linguistically, geographically and historically. It was also clarified that under Article 104 of the Constitution, this area will be considered as part of West Pakistan, it will have a special status, but the rights of its residents will be equal to those of other citizens of the country.
In the next issue of September 22, 1958, the famous magazine Time reported that Pakistan did not get this occupation of Gwadar for free as goodwill, but for it.
A huge amount ie Rs 4 crore 20 lakh has been paid.
After September 24, 1958, Governor West Pakistan Nawab Muzaffar Qazalbash broke the silence through his policy statement. It also ended the debate that had started with the Time magazine report and added a new dimension to the issue, namely India's interest in acquiring guava.
The gist of his statement was that: It is true that Pakistan has paid money for the acquisition of Gwadar. This was because India was also interested in Gwadar and had offered ten times more compensation to the Sultan of Oman than Pakistan to acquire it. For this purpose, India also tried to make several countries its partners who could influence in this matter.
Time magazine made two revelations in its September 1958 issue: the money to be paid in connection with the sale of Gwadar, and that Pakistan intended to build a major airport and naval base at the site. This prediction is about to be fulfilled after more or less half a century, which is called the key of the coming age.
Perhaps for this reason, an Indian writer, Karthik Nambi, has claimed that even after the partition of India, the Sultan of Oman approached India for the sale of Gwadar, but the Indian government did not pay any attention to this offer. After that Sultan contacted Pakistan.
Thus, the short-sightedness of the Indian leadership lost the opportunity to raise the star of India's fortunes and changed the course of both history and geography.