History of Gwadar: the missing character

The port of Gwadar has earned exclusive importance in recent years due to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The town was equally significant across the history. Besides being a natural deep sea port, the Gwadar possesses a prime geo-strategic value. The port-town was the territory of Sultanate of Oman till 1958. Sultan Saeed Bin Taimur and Malik Ferooz Khan Noon were at the helm of affairs in Oman and Pakistan, respectively, when the port of Gwadar was transferred to Pakistan in that year. It was the time when India finalized negotiations with the state of Oman to procure the land of Gwadar. It was that point of time when K. B. Maqbool Hussain, an eminent Pakistani-origin Foreign Secretary of Mascat helped foil the Indian plan. Maqbool Hussain then contacted Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Muhammad Ikram Ullah and convinced him to approach the Pakistan government to acquire the port. Maqbool Hussain was on a visit to Britain along with his boss, the Sultan of Muscat. In the meantime, Maqbool Hussain convinced the sultan to hand over Gwadar to Pakistan on reasonable terms and simultaneously asked Oman representative in Gwadar Abdul Rab to prepare ground for the handing over of the territory to Pakistan. Abdul Rab consulted tribal elders in the town who expressed their acquiesced to the deal with Pakistan. K. B. Maqbool Hussain also managed monetary concession in the deal of acquiring ownership of the territory by Pakistan at that time. Incidentally, Maqbool Hussain was also holding the position of Secretary Finance of the state.
It is also a pleasant element of our history that several territories were physically connected with Pakistan during the democratic periods of our national existence. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan were leading the country when the regions of Azad Kashmir was librated and Gilgit and Baltistan were linked to Pakistan. Similarly, the port of Gwadar was included in the geographical boundaries of Pakistan during the era of Prime Minster Malik Ferooz Khan Noon. It is amazing to note that the first-ever educational institution in the shape of school was founded by Aga Khan Development Scheme in Gwadar in 1905!