Gwadar (Urdu: ‫گوادر‬, Urdu pronunciation: [ɡəʋɑːd̪əɾ]) is a port city on the

southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on

the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman, and has a population of over 90,000
according to the 2017 census. It was an overseas possession of Oman from 1783 to
1958, when it was purchased by Pakistan.[2] It is about 120 km (75 mi) southwest
of Turbat. The sister port city of Chabahar in Iran's Sistan and
Baluchestan province is about 170 km (110 mi) to the west of Gwadar. On 2 April
2021, it was declared the winter capital of Balochistan.[3]
Founded in the late 17th century as a fishing settlement, Gwadar became a regional
trade hub within the Omani Empire in the 20th century before declaring itself a part
of Pakistan (1958). Modest investment from China helped accelerate Gwadar's
development from 2013 to 2020 when the city started to develop its economy. In
2025, overall investment reached 1 billion USD.
The main industrial concern is a fish-processing factory. Gwadar became part of
the sultanate of Muscat and Oman in 1797, and it was not until 1958 that the town
and adjoining hinterland were exchanged from Oman to Pakistan.
Gwadar came in the focus of attention after the Kargil War when Pakistan felt the
need of having a military naval port and the Karachi-Gwadar Road (Coastal
Highway) was built for defence purposes.[4] For most of its history, Gwadar was a
small to medium-sized settlement with an economy largely based on artisanal
fishing. The strategic value of its location was first recognized in 1954 when it was
identified as a suitable site for a deep-water port by the United States Geological
Survey at the request of Pakistan while the territory was still
under Omani rule.[5] Until 2001, the area's potential to be a major deep-water port
remained untapped under successive Pakistani governments, when construction
on the first phase of Gwadar Port was initiated in 2007.[6] The first phase cost $248
million.[7] The port initially remained underutilized after construction for a variety of
reasons, including lack of investment, security concerns, and the Government of
Pakistan's failure to transfer land as promised to the port operator, Port of
Singapore Authority.[8]
In April 2015, Pakistan and China announced their intention to develop the $46
billion China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),[9] which in turn forms part of
China's ambitious One Belt, One Road.[10] Gwadar features heavily in CPEC, and is
also envisaged to be the link between the One Belt, One Road and Maritime Silk
Road project.[11] $1.153 billion worth of infrastructure projects will be invested into
the city as part of CPEC,[12] with the aim of linking northern Pakistan and western
China to the deep-water seaport.[13] The city will also be the site of a floating
liquefied natural gas facility that will be built as part of the larger $2.5 billion
Gwadar–Nawabshah segment of the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project.[14] Despite
concerns over the United States sanctions on Iran, Pakistan is going ahead with the
construction of a pipeline from the Iranian border to Gwadar as of 2024. This is
partly to avoid contractual penalties and partly to avoid overreliance on the Gwadar
Coal–Power Plant which requires imported coal.[15] In addition to investments
directly under the aegis of CPEC in the Gwadar city, the China Overseas Port
Holding Company in June 2016 began construction on the $2 billion Gwadar
Special Economic Zone,[16] which is being modelled on the lines of the special
economic zones of China.[17] In September 2016, the Gwadar Development
Authority published a request for tenders for the preparation of expropriation and
resettlement of Old Town Gwadar.[18]
Etymology
The word "Gwadar" is a combination of two Balochi words
– gwát meaning wind and dar meaning gateway or door (Balochi: ‫)گوات ُء در‬, thus
Gwadar means "the gate of wind".[19]
History
Ancient
The inhabitation of Gwadar, like most of the other areas of Balochistan, appears to
be ancient. The area shows inhabitation as early as the Bronze Age with
settlements around some of the area's oasis. It is from this settlement pattern that
the word Makran, the original name of Balochistan, is derived. For a period, it was a
region of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It is believed to have been conquered by
the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy of
Gedrosia was Pura, which is thought to have been located near the
modern Bampūr, in Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander
the Great, his admiral, Nearchus, led a fleet along the modern-day Makran coast
and recorded that the area was dry, mountainous, and inhabited by the
"Ichthyophagoi" (or "fish-eaters"), an ancient Greek rendering of the ancient
Persian phrase "Mahi Khorana," which has itself become the modern word
"Makran".[20] After the collapse of Alexander's empire the area was ruled
by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander's generals. The region then came
under Mauryan rule around 303 BCE, after Seleucus made peace with
Emperor Chandragupta and ceded the territory to the Mauryans.
The descendants of the original inhabitants are known as Med people, They were
mentioned in the early Muslim historiography as seafarers; some of them carried
piracy as Bawarij in the Indian Ocean from their harbors
in Debal, Kutch and Kathiawar, to as far as the mouth of river Tigris and Ceylon.
Today they are integrated and speak Baloch and Urdu. They are related to the early
Sindhi peoples of Makran such as the Jadgals.
 Omani Fort houses found in the old city.
Omani rule
The region remained on the sidelines of history for a millennium until the Arab-
Muslim army captured Makran in CE 643 and over the intervening (and nearly
equivalent) amount of time the area was contested by various powers. This was
then followed by almost two centuries of local rule by the various Baloch tribes.
The city was visited by Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis in the 1550s and mentioned
in his book Mirat ul Memalik (The Mirror of Countries), 1557.[21] According to Seydi
Ali Reis, the inhabitants of Gwadar were Baloch and their chief was Malik
Jelaleddin, son of Malik Dinar.
In the 15th century the Portuguese conquered parts of India and Oman. They
planned to proceed with annexation of the coastal area of Makran. They attacked
Gwadar under the leadership of Vasco de Gama, but under the supervision of
Commander Mir Ismaheel Baloch, the Portuguese were defeated by the Baloch. A
few times the Portuguese looted and set the coastal villages on fire, but they failed
to capture Gwadar. Cannons of the Portuguese army were found lying near the
Central Jail of Gwadar. The grave of Mir Ismaheel Baloch is situated near the
Mountain of Batal Gwadar, constructed by Mir Ismaheel Baloch himself during life.
He died in 1468, heirless.[22]
Towards the end of the 18th century, the Khan of Kalat, Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai,
granted suzerainty over Gwadar to Sultan bin Ahmad, the ruler of Muscat.[23] When
the sultan subsequently retook Muscat, he was to continue his rule in Gwadar by
appointing a wali (or "governor"). This wali was then ordered to subjugate the
nearby coastal town of Chabahar (now in Iran). The Gwadar fort was built
during Omani rule. In the middle of the 18th century, Nasir Khan captured Gwadar
and its surrounding areas after defeating the Gichki Baloch tribe and included it in
the Khanate of Kalat. However, realizing that maintaining control of the area will be
difficult without the support of the Gichkis, Nasir Khan entered into an agreement
with the local Gichki Chief, which allowed the Gichkis to maintain administrative
control of the area by establishing their own separate state of Makran, in return for
furnishing half the collected revenues to Kalat. This arrangement continued till
1783. When Saiad Sultan fell out with his brother, the ruler of Muscat, and asked for
help, Nasir Khan handed over Gwadar, as part of his share of revenues, to Saiad
Sultan for his maintenance with the understanding that the area be returned to
Kalat, when Saiad Sultan acquires the throne. Saiad Sultan ascended to the throne
of Muscat in 1797 but never returned Gwadar enclave to Kalat. The ensuing
struggle between the heirs of the Sultan and Khan of Kalat for possession of
Gwadar, allowed the British to intervene. Telegraph lines were later extended into
the town courtesy of the British.[citation needed] During the Omani rule various groups
settled in Gwadar from Sindh such as the Al Lawati which predominantly settled in
Oman proper and Muslim Kanjar people who escaped British to Gwadar to escape
their persecution for their nomadic lifestyle. The main two Wali of Gwadar were Saif
Bin Ali (First) and Ehsan Azim also written as (Last) from 1783–1958.[24]

Gwādar Station
The British after extracting concessions from the Sultan for the use of the area
facilitated Muscat retaining Gwadar. Later on, the British claimed that the area was
granted to the Sultan by Mir Nasir, however, local accounts and the declassified
documents of that time challenge this claim.[25] From 1863 to 1879, Gwadar was the
headquarters of a British Assistant Political Agent. Gwadar was a fortnightly port of
call for the British India Steamship Navigation Company's steamers and included a
combined Post & Telegraph Office.
Pakistan
In 1947, Makran acceded to the newly created Dominion of Pakistan and was made
a district – but Gwadar at that time was not included in Makran. In 1958, the Prime
Minister of Pakistan Feroz Khan Noon and his wife Viqar-un-Nisa Noon were able to
convince the British Government to hand over Gwadar to Pakistan. On September
8, 1958, Oman finally handed over Gwadar to Pakistan after Prince Karim Aga Khan
IV made a contribution of around $3 million USD.[26] It was given the status of
a Tehsil of Makran district. On 1 July 1977, Makran District was upgraded into a
division and was divided into three districts of Turbat (Kech since 1994–
95), Panjgur and Gwadar.
Gwadar underwent major development from 2002 to 2007. In 2002,
Pakistan's National Highway Authority (NHA) began construction of the 653 km-
long Makran Coastal Highway linking Gwadar
with Karachi via Pasni and Ormara and onwards with the rest of the National
Highways of Pakistan, which was completed in 2004. In 2003, the Gwadar
Development Authority was established to oversee the planning and development
of Gwadar and Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority was established to
promote industrial activities in mega port city of Gwadar.[27] In 2004, NHA began
construction of the 820-km long M-8 motorway linking Gwadar
with Ratodero in Sindh province via Turbat, Hoshab, Awaran, and Khuzdar and
onwards with the rest of the Motorways of Pakistan. In 2006, the Gwadar
Development Authority conceived, developed, and adopted a 50-year Master Plan
for Gwadar,[28] which was inspired by the Chinese port city of Shenzhen.[29] In 2007,
the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan acquired 1,700 ha (4,300 acres) to construct
a new greenfield airport, the New Gwadar International Airport 2,400 ha (6,000
acres), at an estimated cost of US$246 million.[30] It is expected to be operational by
2025.
On 3 June 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the 19.49 km, six-
lane Gwadar East Bay Expressway, which was developed as an early harvest
project under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.[31] The expressway connects
the Gwadar Port with the Makran Coastal Highway, thus improving connectivity and
helping the transportation of goods towards Karachi.[31] Other developments
include 100MW Electricity import from Iran, multiple Housing Schemes, 5-star
Hotels, Expo Centre, Desalination Plants on Arabian Sea, Pak-China Friendship
Hospital, Aramco Oil Refinery (foreign investment from Saudi Arabia) and an ICC
Standard Cricket Stadium.
2024 Baloch Raji Muchi
In July and August 2024, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized the
Baloch Raji Muchi ("Baloch National Gathering") in Gwadar to advocate for rights
of the Baloch people. On 27 July, the Frontier Corps, a Pakistani paramilitary force,
fired on participants traveling to Gwadar, injuring at least 14. The next day, security
forces killed at least three protesters in Gwadar and Talar and injured dozens
more.[32] On 29 July, the police used tear gas to disperse crowds, detaining key
BYC organizers including Sammi Deen Baloch, Sabghatullah Shah, and Dr. Sabiha
Baloch, drawing international condemnation from organizations like Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch.[32][33]
Geography
Topography
 Gwadar is located on a narrow and
sandy isthmus which connects the 150 m (480 ft) foot tall Gwadar Promontory to

the Makran coastline. Fishing boats in Gwadar East

Bay with the Koh-e-Mehdi Hills in the background

Aerial view of Gwadar city
Gwadar is situated on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan in Gwadar
District of Balochistan province. Like Ormara further east, Gwadar is situated on a
natural hammerhead-shaped tombolo peninsula forming two almost perfect, but
naturally curved, semicircular bays on either side. The city is situated on a narrow
and sandy 12 km-long (7 mi) isthmus which connects the Pakistani coast to rocky
outcroppings in the Arabian sea known as the Gwadar Promontory, or Koh-e-
Batil, which reach an elevation of 150 m (480 ft) and extend 11 km (7 mi) east to
west with a breadth of 1.5 km (1 mi).[34] The 240 m (800 ft) wide isthmus upon which
Gwadar is located separates the two almost perfect semicircular bays from one
another. The western bay is known as the Paddi Zirr, and is generally shallow with
an average depth of 3.7 m (12 ft), and a maximum depth of 9.1 m (30 ft).[34] To the
east of the isthmus is the deepwater Demi Zirr harbour, where the Gwadar Port was
built.
Climate
Main article: Climate of Gwadar
Gwadar has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), characterised by
little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures.
Oceanic influence from the cool currents of the Arabian Sea moderates
temperatures, resulting in notably cooler summer temperatures compared to areas
inland and cities in the Persian Gulf such as Dubai. The Arabian Sea also
moderates winter temperatures, resulting in warmer winter nights as compared to
inland areas.
The mean temperature in the hottest month (June) remains between 31 °C and
32 °C. The mean temperature in the coolest month (January) varies from 18 °C to
19 °C. The uniformity of temperature is a unique characteristic of the Makran
Coastal region. Occasionally, winds moving down the Balochistan plateau bring
brief cold spells, otherwise the winter is pleasant. In Gwadar, winters are shorter
than summers. Although Gwadar is situated outside the monsoon belt, it receives
light monsoon showers in summer (June–August). However, in winter, Western
Disturbance can cause heavy rainfall. Annual rainfall is only 100 mm (3 inches). In
June 2010, Gwadar was lashed by Cyclone Phet with record-breaking rains of
372 mm and winds up to 121 km/h (75 mph).
On 27–28 February 2024, Gwadar received a rainfall of 180 millimeters over 30
hours resulting in the flooding of the coastal town.[35] Pakistan's uniformed forces
and local authorities evacuated families from sub-merged localities. The floodings
blocked all traffic between Gwadar and Karachi due to the damaged coastal
highway that connects both the cities.[35]

Climate data for Gwadar, Pakistan

Ja Fe Ma Ma Ju Au Se No De Ye
Month Apr Jul Oct
n b r y n g p v c ar

31. 33. 40. 44. 45. 48. 42. 39. 41. 41. 37. 33. 48.
Record high 1 0 5 7 7 0 5 5 1 0 0 1 0
°C (°F) (88 (91 (10 (11 (11 (11 (10 (10 (10 (10 (98 (91 (11
.0) .4) 4.9) 2.5) 4.3) 8.4) 8.5) 3.1) 6.0) 5.8) .6) .6) 8.4)

Mean daily
maximum °C 24. 25. 28. 31. 34. 34. 32. 31. 31. 32. 29. 25. 29.
(°F) 1 0 0 9 2 0 5 5 5 0 0 0 9
 (75 (77 (82. (89. (93. (93. (90. (88. (88. (89. (84 (77 (85.
.4) .0) 4) 4) 6) 2) 5) 7) 7) 6) .2) .0) 8)

13. 15. 18. 21. 24. 26. 26. 25. 24. 21. 18. 15. 21.
Mean daily
8 1 4 7 9 9 9 8 4 7 0 1 1
minimum °C
(56 (59 (65. (71. (76. (80. (80. (78. (75. (71. (64 (59 (70.
(°F)
.8) .2) 1) 1) 8) 4) 4) 4) 9) 1) .4) .2) 0)

12. 15. 20. 20. 20. 18. 13.

2.3 1.3 8.0 5.5 0.5 0.5
Record low °C 5 5 0 8 5 0 0
(36 (34 (46. (41 (32 (32.
(°F) (54. (59. (68. (69. (68. (64. (55.
.1) .3) 4) .9) .9) 9)
5) 9) 0) 4) 9) 4) 4)

25. 22. 13. 21. 89.

Average preci 4.9 0.1 2.4 6.6 2.8 0.2 0.9 3.7
9 7 4 6 8
pitation mm (0.1 (0.0 (0.0 (0.2 (0.1 (0.0 (0.0 (0.
(1. (0. (0.5 (0. (3.5
(inches) 9) 0) 9) 6) 1) 1) 4) 15)
02) 89) 3) 85) 4)

Source: [36]

Demographics
Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a.

1945 5,875 —

1961 ... —

1972 15,794 —

1981 17,000 +0.82%

1998 45,021 +5.90%

2017 90,201 +3.73%

2023 70,852 −3.94%

Sources:[37]

As Gwadar was part of Sultanate of Oman during the British rule, it was excluded
from all the censuses of British India. According to the records of Oman from 1945,
the Gwadar city had a population of 5,875.[38] The population of the city has risen to
approximately 85,000 as of 2014.[39] In the 2017 census, Gwadar city had a total
population of 90,762.[40]
The population of city in 2023 was 70,852 according to the 2023 Census of
Pakistan.[41] The population of Gwadar tehsil was 147,041 (2023).[42]
Languages
The population of Gwadar is predominantly Baloch.[43][44] 97.5% of the population in
Gwadar tehsil speak the Baloch language as the mother tongue. Other spoken
languages are Sindhi (0.7%), Brahui (0.6%), Urdu (0.2%), Saraiki (0.2%)
and Pashto (0.2%).[41]