Pakistan steps up security ahead of port opening GWADAR, Pakistan, March 19 (Reuters) - Pakistan tightened security around a coastal town in Balochistan province on Monday, a day before the opening of a port authorities hope will bring prosperity to the remote and troubled region. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is due to open the Gwadar deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea on Tuesday along with Chinese Minister of Communications Li Shenglin. China financed 80 percent of the initial development costs of the $248 million project in Balochistan province, 70 km (45 miles) east of the Iranian border and on the doorstep of Gulf shipping lanes. Thousands of soldiers and policemen guarded the coast and roads to the port on Monday while fishermen were told to stay well clear. "We have been told to keep way from the port area for two days as President Musharraf is coming," said fisherman Imam Buksh. "This will cause problems to many fisherman who work and earn their daily bread here." Conceived more than a decade ago, authorities hope the port at Gwadar, a fishing town of 70,000 people, will handle trans-shipment traffic for the Gulf and ports on the Arabian Peninsula. Pakistan also hopes the port will become the main trade conduit for land-locked Afghanistan and Central Asia. The government aims to turn the country's second deep-sea port after Karachi, 450 km (280 miles) to the east, into a free-trade zone. The chief minister of Balochistan, Jam Yousuf, said the port's first ships were on the way. "We are very happy that the first ships will be at the port so soon after its completion," Yousuf told Reuters. Late on Monday, two ships -- one foreign and one Pakistani -- were moored in the port. A third was due on Tuesday, a government official said. "NO OPPOSITION" Balochistan, Pakistan's biggest but poorest province, has been plagued for decades by a low-level insurgency by tribal militants seeking control of the province's gas and other resoures. The militants opposed construction of the port and claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in 2004 that killed three Chinese technicians and wounded nine. But Yousuf played down security concerns. "There is no opposition to Gwadar port. Building has been a long-standing demand of all political parties, even the nationalists," Yousuf said. He said the port would bring prosperity to the region, but some residents remain to be convinced. "We're happy with the development taking place but we should benefit from it as well," said fisherman Rasool Buksh. "We're not getting any jobs despite all the work going on. We see no other way but to continue fishing." Others residents said its was skilled workers from Pakistan's other provinces who were getting rich. "The port is good only for people from outside Gwadar and not for locals," said resident Abdul Wahid. "This port is being built for foreigners and people from other areas. "We support development but it should change our lives and end our suffering. Gwadar has brought us no good so far." Source: Reuters By Faisal Aziz 19.3.07