Brig. (R) Agha Ahmad Gul
Along the 770 km long coastline of Balochistan, for centuries, there have been only five small fishing villages, from East to West, Sonmiani, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, and Jiwani. Other than Sonmiani, no fishing village had fresh water. They were all dependent on sporadic rains. In 1792, an estranged prince of Oman landed at Gwadar and sought asylum from the Khanate of Kalat. Mir Nasir allowed him to live in Gwadar. Later, the King of Oman died, the prince became the king, sailed back to Muscat, but did not abandon Gwadar. Not only the succeeding Khans of Kalat, but even the British, when they took over the Khanate in 1838, did not bother about repossessing Gwadar. It was of no consequence to them.
Dependent upon scanty rains, no cultivation was possible, Gwadar remained engaged in meagre fishing, living in abject poverty for centuries. Pakistan was created in 1947. The new country slowly realized that Gwadar was still under Oman and ought to revert to the Kalat Division. In 1958, the Government of Pakistan regained sovereignty over Gwadar, but it had to pay a major amount as compensation to Oman.
Gwadar remained a fishing village. At the beginning of the year 2000, the Federal Government and China decided to upgrade it to a major seaport linking it through Pakistan to Kashghar, China, and reviving the ancient Silk Route. The name China Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, started ringing bells in corridors of major powers, not only regionally but globally. These major powers felt that a geopolitical disadvantage would emerge if CPEC materialized. The feeling was more due to China getting access to the Arabian Sea, thus bypassing the choke point of the Malacca Strait, and less for the prospects of economic advantage to Pakistan. Indian and American interests coincided and therefore emerged slowly, the Baloch Insurgency in Southern Balochistan.
Both Gwadar and CPEC slowly continued developing. The towns along the CPEC route and Gwadar itself became a frequent target of terror attacks. Chinese engineers, Pakistanis working in Gwadar and along the CPEC, and the law-enforcing agencies, which started expanding slowly, became targets of the terrorists. The signatures of the Indian Intelligence agency RAW became visible after every target killing by a handful of Baloch terrorists. Some of them were hired initially, some due to radicalizing propaganda, and became ideologues over the past nearly two decades. Baloch are brave, no doubt about it. Happily, a great majority remains patriotic, has not been radicalized by anti-Pakistan propaganda, and is fighting terrorism along with the rest of the Pakistanis. The northern Balochistan, where Pashtuns and settlers live, has remained peaceful.
This is the story of a brave, patriotic Baloch of Gwadar who laid his life down while fighting against two terrorists in the streets of Gwadar on the night of 10 May 2025.
Sepoy Muhammad Kumari, belonging to Gwadar, had joined the Police of Gwadar a few years ago and was part of the Police Station Gwadar. On the night of 10 May, he was on Police Protection Duty in the area of Bilal Masjid, Nigori Ward. He was in combat uniform, carrying a pistol and wearing a bulletproof Jacket (BPJ). He had noticed two civilians moving together some distance away. Close to being midnight, he watched their suspicious movement. Suddenly, the two of them lobbed two grenades into a compound where some non-locals were living. The grenades exploded, and the two terrorists started running as they had seen the Policemen watching them from a distance.
Sepoy Muhammad Kumari, ran after them. The terrorists turned onto the streets of Gwadar and tried to escape. Kumari realized he could not run faster as the weight of the BPJ was slowing him down, being heavy. Disregarding self-protection, which the BPJ was providing, he unbuckled it, threw it away, and then sprinted after the terrorists. As the escaping terrorists came closer, they fired at him with pistols. Kumari also fired back at them with his pistol. One terrorist fell down. Several bullets had hit Kumari. He fired his last shot at the still-running terrorist and fell, losing consciousness. Hearing the gunshots, a Police Party reached the site and evacuated both Kumari and the fallen terrorist to the hospital. Both died due to injuries. Kumari had considered his duty supreme and had removed his BPJ, knowingly making him highly vulnerable while approaching the terrorists.
He shot the terrorists, killing one for sure, but in the pursuit, he sacrificed his own life, embracing Shahadat. He was a brave Baloch of whom every soldier can be proud. He is the Hero of Gwadar! The second terrorist who had escaped reached his home while profusely bleeding.
His father brought him to the hospital. He had received bullet injuries, was in a critical state, and was put on a ventilator. The hospital informed the Police, who arrived and investigated. After divulging the entire incident, his father also admitted the involvement of his son in terror. On his indication, some explosive devices, weapons, and ammunition were recovered from his home in Bakhshi Colony, Gwadar. The second terrorist also died after some hours.
The three non-locals who had sustained splinter injuries due to the grenade attack were brought to the hospital for treatment. They turned out to be Baloch belonging to Muzaffargarh. Incidentally, there are more Baloch living in Sindh and Punjab than in the province named ‘Balochistan’. The funeral of the Shaheed Policeman was attended by senior-most Army officers, civil officials, and police on 11 May. GOC offered his condolences to the grieving family and paid tribute to the valiant action and sacrifice of the Shaheed Sepoy Kumari. Gwadar can be rightfully proud of their Hero.
The author of this article is a former Consultant/Coordinator of Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN), Quetta.
