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Belt and Road

Pakistan politicians fear losing strategic islands to China

Local parties claim federal land snatch to feed Belt and Road ambitions

Prime Minister Imran Khan's government is being criticized by opposition parties for taking direct control of two islands that could be of strategic value to China in the Arabian Sea.    © Nikkei montage/Source photo by Reuters

QUETTA, Pakistan -- Pakistan's federal government has triggered a political uproar after taking direct control of two islands previously under the regional government of Sindh province.

President Arif Alvi signed the Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) ordinance last month to facilitate reclamation and urban planning on Bundal and Bhuddo islands, which are located south of Karachi. Both islands are some eight kilometers across, and the largest along Sindh's coast.

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