Gwadar's History-'Operation Bravo'

[WAJsal]

PDF is changing the format, will try to fix it.

I was gifted a book on History of Pakistan Navy by a friend of my father, reading through the material i came across some interesting content and thought i'd share it on PDF with the rest. With it i will also make a mention of Gwadar's history. Simply copy pasted it, source provided.
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Commander-in-Chief,
Pakistan Navy,
Naval Headquarters,
KARACHI.​

No,DN/1100.

Dated 5th September, 1958.​

OPERATION ORDER NO . 1 –OPERATION “BRAVO”.​

Reference: Admiralty Chart no . 38.

Appendices: A. Gwadar Intelligence Brief.

B. Photostat Copy of Gwadar Bay
(to ‘BABUSAR’ only)

Time: All time ECHO ( -5).

Information

1. Since Independence the Government of Pakistan has been negotiating with the Sultan of Muscat for the return of Gwadar territory. Arrangements have now been finalized for its return to the Government of Pakistan on Monday 8 September, 1958. Agha Abdul Hamid, CSP, Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat will represent the Government of Pakistan at the transfer ceremony and will receive this territory on behalf of the Government.

Intention

2. a. The transfer of Gwadar will be effected at an Official Ceremony on the Port of Gwadar on Monday 8 September, 1958. The Government of Pakistan will be represented Mr AA Hamid.

b. On completion of the transfer ceremony, the administration of Gwadar will be taken over by a Pakistani Official who will be assisted by special police force being dispatched from Karachi for this purpose.

c. PNS Babur is to anchor in Gwadar East Bay and act as radio link with Karachi and provide Military support to the Pakistani Civil Administration, if required.

Execution

1. PNS Babur is to detail one Signal Communication Officer and one Leading Tel. with one portable R/T Set Type 62. This party is to board SS Sirdhana AM Sunday 7 September. Naval personnel are to travel incognito in plain clothes. Likewise the equipment and the personal kit is to be camouflaged.

2. Pakistan’s representative accompanied by a contingent of 22 Pakistan Police and the Naval communication Unit is to scheduled to sail for Gwadar on board SS Sirdhaa at 1400 on Sunday 7 September, 1958.

3. SS Sirdhana is expected to reach Gwadar on Monday 8 September. Firm ETA will be signaled later.

4. After having embarked about 8 pressmen/photographers, PNS Babur is to sail for Gwadar PM Sunday 7 September. Course and speed is to be adjusted so as to arrive Gwadar East Bay one hour after SS Sirdhana and anchor in safe depths.

5. Pakistan Government’s representative along with the rest of the party will disembark from SS Sirdhana and proceed ashore to attend the Official Transfer Ceremony. The civilian personnel on board Babur are to be landed to witness the function.

6. On behalf of the Sultan of Muscat, the Wali will hand over Gwadar to the representative of the British Authorities of the British Counsel General in Muscat. The British Authorities in turn will hand over the territory to the Pakistan Government’s representative.

7. PNS Babur may be required to land a guard of honor for the Pakistan Flag hosting ceremony.

8. On completion of the transfer Ceremony the Wali of Gwadar, his local administration staff and the representative of the British Counsel general will leave Gwadar.

9. On successful completion of transfer of power a tea part will be given on board PNS Babur PM 8 September to which 250 guest will be invited.

10. On about 11 September or as direct by Pakistan Government’s representative, PNS Babur is to embark all personnel, not required for the local administration, and return to Karachi.

11. During stay at Gwadar, especially during the first phase of the transfer of power, PNS Babur is to maintain efficient communication with the Naval Communication Unit ashore at Gwadar and is to be ready to land 3 platoons in aid of civil power, if required.

12. No opposition is to be expected but all possible precautions and measures are to be taken to prepare against any eventuality.

Administrative Arrangements

13. a. For operation “Bravo” PNS Babur will come under the direct operational control of the Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Navy.

b. The commanding Officer is to afford all assistance and cooperation to Agha A Hamid, CSP, Pakistan Government’s representative and is to provide such military support as may be requested for the successful execution of this operation.

c. Commanding Officer is to make periodical Situation Reports to the Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan as necessary.

Signal Communication

1. A direct link is to be maintained between PNS Baur and Karachi W/T on 8520 Kc/s from the time of the Ship’s departure till its return to Karachi.

2. Following frequencies are to be used for communication between PNS Babur and the Naval Communication Unit Ashore:-

(1) Primary- 2530 KC/S

(2) Alternative- 3540 KC/S

PNS Babur is to allocate call signs and other necessary instructions.

3. Communication between Babur and the Naval Communication Unit is to be established as soon as the latter has landed ashore.

4. Receipt of this order is to be acknowledge on the attached receipt

Sd/- (H M S CHOUDRI)
Vice Admiral
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF,
Pakistan Navy​

Commanding Officer
PNS Babur



(Source Page number: 402-405-STORY OF THE PAKISTAN NAVY 1947-1972)

(@Icarus ,@Neutron ,@WebMaster ,@Slav Defence ,@AUSTERLITZ ,@Shah01 ,@The Eagle ,@Windjammer ,@PARIKRAMA ,@MaarKhoor ,@Jungibaaz ,@waz ,@scorpionx ,@nair @Atanz ,@fatman17 )

 

[WAJsal]

History

The Makran region surrounding Gwadar was occupied by unknown Bronze age people who settled in the few oases. It later became the Gedrosia region of the Achaemenid Persian empire. The region is believed to have been conquered by the founder of the Persian empire, Cyrus the Great. The capital of the satrapy Gedrosia was Pura, thought to have been located near modern Bampur, in modern Iranian Balochistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral Nearchus led a fleet along the modern Makran coast and recorded that the area was dry and mountainous, inhabited by the Ichthyophagoi or Fish eaters – a Greek rendering of the ancient Persian phrase Mahi khoran, which has become the modern word Makran.

After the collapse of Alexander’s empire, the area was ruled by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals, but the region came under local rule about 303 BC. For several centuries, the region remained at the sidelines of history, until the Muslim Arab army under Muhammad bin Qasim captured the town of Gwadar in 711 AD. In the following centuries the area was contested between various Iranian and Indian based powers including the Mughals and the Safavids.

Portuguese explorers captured and sacked Gwadar in the late 16th century. This was followed by centuries of local rule by various Baloch tribes. In 1783 the Khan of Kalat granted Gwadar to Taimur Sultan, the defeated ruler of Muscat. When Taimur recaptured Muscat, he continued to rule Gwadar by appointing a wali or governor. The new governor was ordered to conquer the nearby coastal town of Chah Bahar (in modern Iran). Gwadar fort was built during Omani rule, whilst telegraph lines were extended into Gwadar courtesy of the British.(1)


Gwadar is a hammerhead-shaped peninsula protruding into the Arabian Sea from the westernmost coastline of Pakistan in Balochistan province. It is situated at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, approximately 460 km (290 mi) west of Karachi, 75 km (47 mi) east of Pakistan's border with Iran and 380 km (240 mi) km northeast of the nearest point in Oman across the Arabian Sea. It is a natural and strategic location for a warm-water, deep-sea port.

Before 1784, Gwadar was under the suzerainty of the Kalat State (also known as the "Khanate of Kalat"), a princely state that always remained under the paramountcy of various overarching empires at different periods of its history. In 1784, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Muhammad Naseer Khan I, of the Brahui Ahmadzai clan, granted suzerainty over the Gwadar peninsula and its hinterland to Sultan bin Ahmad of the Al Said dynasty of Muscat who, due to an internal power struggle with his brother, Said bin Ahmad, had escaped to Gwadar from Muscat in 1784. Upon returning to Muscat in 1792 and capturing power, Sultan bin Ahmad maintained his possession of Gwadar by appointing a wali(governor) and ordering a fort to be built there. Sultan bin Ahmad also ordered his governor to attack and annex the nearby Persian port of Chahbahar.


When Pakistan gained independence in 1947, Gwadar was still under Omani rule. With the independence of Pakistan and accession of all Baloch states to Pakistan, including the Chief Commissioner's Province of British Baluchistan on 15 August 1947 (under Section 2(2)(b) of the Indian Independence Act, 1947); the States of Kharan, Makran and Lasbela on 17 March 1948; and the Kalat State on 27 March 1948, the residents of Gwadar began raising the demand to join Pakistan.

In 1954, Pakistan engaged the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a survey of its coastline. The USGS deputed the surveyor, Worth Condrick, for the survey, who identified the hammerhead-shaped peninsula of Gwadar as a natural and suitable site for a new deep-sea port. This finding, coupled with the rising demands of the residents of Gwadar to join Pakistan, prompted Pakistan to make a formal request to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Said bin Taimur, for the transfer of Gwadar to Pakistan. On 7 September 1958, after four years of negotiations, including six months of intense negotiations, Pakistan purchased the Gwadar enclave from the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman for USD $3 million. Gwadar formally became part of Pakistan on 8 December 1958, after 174 years of Omani rule.In 1958, the Gwadar enclave was transferred to Pakistan after Aga Khan III paid ?3 million and gifted Gwader to Pakistan and it was made part of Balochistan province.

As Prime Minister Malik Feroze Khan Noon addressed the nation on Radio Pakistan on 7 September 1958 to break the news of Gwadar's accession to Pakistan, celebrations broke out in Gwadar, Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan. Below is the transcript of the Prime Minister's radio address:


"The Government of Pakistan has issued a communiqué stating that the administration of the Port of Gwadar and its hinterland, which had been in the possession of His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and Oman since 1784, was today taken over by Pakistan with full sovereign rights. The people of Gwadar have joined the people of Pakistan and the whole of Gwadar now forms part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I know that the people all over Pakistan, including those residing in Gwadar, have received this announcement with feelings of great joy. I welcome the residents of Gwadar into the Republic of Pakistan and I would like to assure them that they will enjoy equal rights and privileges along with all other Pakistan nationals irrespective of considerations of religion, caste or creed. They will have their full share in the glory and prosperity of the Republic to which they now belong. The residents of Gwadar, most of whom are members of the brave Baloch community, have close racial and cultural links with the people of Pakistan and joining the Republic of Pakistan represents the natural culmination of their political aspirations. I should like to take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan, Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom for their assistance and help in bringing to a successful conclusion our negotiations with His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and Oman for the transfer of his rights in Gwadar. The negotiations were pursued with great vigour during the last six months and at every stage we received valuable advice from Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom. I should like to congratulate and thank his Highness the Sultan of Muscat and Oman on his wise and statesmanlike decision, which has endeared him to the people of Pakistan. The success of these negotiations and the return of Gwadar to Pakistan should help to illustrate that international disputes can be resolved in a peaceful and satisfactory manner provided that the parties to a dispute are prepared to approach the problem in a spirit of fairness and justice without allowing their emotions or prejudices to get the better of their judgment. I’ve been advocating this course during the last six months and I’m happy that the present Government has been able to establish the validity and effectiveness of this policy. Gwadar is the first fruit of this policy of goodwill and cooperation. I fervently hope and pray that it will be possible for us to resolve our other international disputes in an equally peaceful and reasonable manner. Pakistan Zindabad."At the time, Gwadar was a small and underdeveloped fishing village with a population of a few thousand. Soon after its accession to Pakistan in 1958, the Government of Pakistan made Gwadar into a Tehsil (Sub-District) of Makran District in the erstwhile West Pakistan Province (after its accession to Pakistan in 1948, Makran had been made one of the districts of West Pakistan Province in October 1955). On 1 July 1970, when West Pakistan Province was dissolved into four separate provinces, Makran was declared one of the eight districts of the newly created Balochistan Province. On 1 July 1977, Makran was declared a Division and Gwadar was declared one of its three districts.
Source: Gwadar's Accession to Pakistan

@anant_s ,some history for you...

 

[PARIKRAMA]

@WAJsal
i was about to write that Pakistan purchased Gwadar from Oman for 3 million dollars on 8 September 1958 .. So operation Bravo was towards that accession right..

8.9.58 Gwadar officially become part of Pakistan that time Gwadar was a small and under developing village with a population of few thousand .

 

[The Eagle]

Great share @WAJsal so also it will help many readers about the history of accession of Balochistan and will clear the fog to many members here been in doubts about Balochistan as captured by Pakistan. Indeed such shares will help more awareness to the readers and importance of Balochistan as well.

Thanks for the share.

 

[Green Arrow]

A good read @WAJsal. Taking Gwadar was one of the few good decision of the early 60s.

 

[anant_s]

History

gee thanks mate!I'll share a bit of my knowledge with you (from a very different perspective though) from my days of being an engineering student.

Geography

Makran Coast runs on south of Iran and Baluchistan (Pakistan). Its a semi arid strip of land consists of three mountain ranges Makran Coastal, Central Makran and Siahan Ranges.

It has a history dating back to Achaemenid empire and several battles were fought here, some of them dating back to Mahmud Ghazni's rule.

Tremors and Shock
This place is of tremendous interest to both geologists and structural engineers. The reason for that are the fault lines that lie in the region and for the devastation they can cause by triggering seismic movements and consequent earthquake and Tsunamis in Arabian Sea.

The reason for this is upward movement of Indian Plate at a rate of about 30 mm per year

this movement makes the region one of the most earthquake prone regions in our part of world (the other being Himalayas, and for exactly the same region).
As a result of this, the region has seen a huge number of earthquakes in documented history and God know how much loss of lives and property has taken place in this.

As a result this Makran fault has a special place in civil engineering studies in this region and very often the codal values for ground motion on western parts of India (Gujarat and Maharashtra especially) are derived based on maximum earthquake potential from Makran Fault Lines

In hot regional politics often leaning on brinkmanship, we often forget that bigger fault lines lie not on our borders but somewhere else, whose next action, scaringly is, beyond our control.

PS: here is one report by Pakistan scientific community, studying possibility of Tsunami that can get triggered by strong earthquake in region. Quite an interesting read.
http://www.pmd.gov.pk/rnd/rnd_files... KARACHI AND THE MAKRAN COAST OF PAKISTAN.pdf

@Levina @Irfan Baloch @PARIKRAMA @AUSTERLITZ @Nihonjin1051

 

[WAJsal]

i was about to write that Pakistan purchased Gwadar from Oman for 3 million dollars on 8 September 1958 .. So operation Bravo was towards that accession right..

Yes.

gee thanks mate!I'll share a bit of my knowledge with you (from a very different perspective though) from my days of being an engineering student.

Geography

Makran Coast runs on south of Iran and Baluchistan (Pakistan). Its a semi arid strip of land consists of three mountain ranges Makran Coastal, Central Makran and Siahan Ranges.
View attachment 297117

It has a history dating back to Achaemenid empire and several battles were fought here, some of them dating back to Mahmud Ghazni's rule.

Tremors and Shock
This place is of tremendous interest to both geologists and structural engineers. The reason for that are the fault lines that lie in the region and for the devastation they can cause by triggering seismic movements and consequent earthquake and Tsunamis in Arabian Sea.
View attachment 297119
The reason for this is upward movement of Indian Plate at a rate of about 30 mm per year
View attachment 297118

View attachment 297124

this movement makes the region one of the most earthquake prone regions in our part of world (the other being Himalayas, and for exactly the same region).
As a result of this, the region has seen a huge number of earthquakes in documented history and God know how much loss of lives and property has taken place in this.
View attachment 297123 View attachment 297125

As a result this Makran fault has a special place in civil engineering studies in this region and very often the codal values for ground motion on western parts of India (Gujarat and Maharashtra especially) are derived based on maximum earthquake potential from Makran Fault Lines
View attachment 297122
View attachment 297126

In hot regional politics often leaning on brinkmanship, we often forget that bigger fault lines lie not on our borders but somewhere else, whose next action, scaringly is, beyond our control.

PS: here is one report by Pakistan scientific community, studying possibility of Tsunami that can get triggered by strong earthquake in region. Quite an interesting read.
http://www.pmd.gov.pk/rnd/rnd_files/vol4_issue7/2. THE POTENTIAL OF TSUNAMI GENERATION ALONG KARACHI AND THE MAKRAN COAST OF PAKISTAN.pdf

@Levina @Irfan Baloch @PARIKRAMA @AUSTERLITZ @Nihonjin1051

Very informative, thank you.


Forgot to mention you guys, @Horus ,@Rashid Mahmood ,@Bratva ,@forcetrip ,@Jazzbot ,@notorious_eagle ....

 

[Kompromat]

We should buy Wakkan Corridor like this too.

 

[Apprentice]

How Pakistan took Gwadar (peacefully and through negotiations) and how India took Goa (through violence and agression) is a stark reminder of the difference between the natures of the two countries.

 

[War Historian]

Historical facts about the Gwadar. Gwadar was always a center point for international powers. Persian Cyrus the great, Alexander the great, Umar the great.and many more came and try to cement their presence here in Gwadar.last one was Oman, india who tried but fail to take the advantage.