Pakistan acquired the strategically located coastal territory of Gwadar from Muscat and Oman in 1958, expanding its access to the Arabian Sea.
Key Facts
- Purchase Price
- US$3 million (reported)
- Area Acquired
- 15,210 sq km (5,870 sq mi)
- Seller
- Muscat and Oman
- Purchase Date
- 8 September 1958
- Official Integration Date
- 8 December 1958
- Reported Financier
- Aga Khan IV (per BBC News Dari, 2026)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Gwadar had been an Omani enclave on the Balochistan coast for over two centuries, administered by Muscat and Oman. Pakistan, seeking to consolidate its coastal territory and gain greater access to the Arabian Sea, pursued diplomatic negotiations to purchase the strategically positioned port area from Sultan Said bin Taimur.
Through the efforts of Pakistani Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon and Sultan Said bin Taimur of Muscat and Oman, Pakistan formally purchased 15,210 square kilometres of Gwadar on 8 September 1958 for a reported US$3 million. The territory officially became part of Pakistan on 8 December 1958.
The acquisition gave Pakistan full sovereignty over the Gwadar coastline, incorporating a population of Baluchi fishing and trading communities into the Pakistani state. Decades later, Gwadar would become a focal point of major economic development, most notably as a key node in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.