Thread by @misterzedpk

1/n A wild thought amidst efforts to revive the economy during COVID-19:

Encourage real estate giants for land reclamation in Pak's extended continental shelf thereby setting up a small archipelago which could be used for (1) housing fishermen, (2) promoting de-urbanisation.

2/n Imagine an entire island (or several) reserved by the government to serve as a remote 'quarantine camp' for people affected by a biohazard or other disaster, where they could live peacefully with dignity until they're fit for mainland social integration again.

3/n One island could serve as an exclusive regional marine ecology research hub for the entire Indian Ocean Region.

4/n Some islands could be designated for commercial shipping use especially in logistics and offland customs terminals.

5/n One island could be dotted with massive warehouses and serve as a common replenishment base or stopover for commercial vessels passing to and from the North Arabian Sea. Pak's extended continental shelf is in an ideal location between Oman to the west and India to the east.

6/n One island could be used/marketed exclusively as a range for defence manufacturers and commercial space vehicle operators to test their prototypes before they are approved for mass production.

7/n Alternatively, I argued earlier how artificial islands in Pak's extended continental shelf could boost national security by becoming part of the regional maritime calculus with greater assertiveness.
cscr.pk/explore/themes…

8/n A month after my piece was published, this news emerged, but the project's scope is limited and details too vague to make a proper long-term assessment.
globalconstructionreview.com/news/pakistan-…

9/n There are immense economic opportunities for the government to exploit in the high seas. The year 2020 was declared as 'Year of the Blue Economy' but everything got brushed under the carpet because of COVID-19.

10/n Regional countries such as India have been working on maritime economic and security projects to dominate the Indian Ocean since the past decade. The delays which they face due to COVID-19 provide golden time for Pakistan to seize the moment and do fast-tracked catching up.

11/ It will take a long time for Pakistan to achieve even 10% of India's efforts in the regional blue economy front as it stands today, but with the right strategic vision and proactive opportunism, we can make some mentionable progress.

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