Daily Times

Balochistan is being measured as a blessed province with the availability of so many natural resources in shape of natural gas, coal etc. One can witness Balochistan as the best province of the world potentially. It is the place where numerous businesses are going to get to a great vision; we have the best example of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) through Gwadar port.

Unfortunately, everyone is always deeply astonished when they hear of Balochistan as a backward province. For the province is not getting good attention from federal and provincial governments to be developed due to which people are facing several major problems.

Despite being gifted naturally, there exists a lot of suffering because of poverty. According to a report, Baloch people are on a downward spiral since 2007 with the lowest literacy rate. Balochistan occupies 45 percent of Pakistan geographically and approximately equals to France with a population of 12,344,408. Because of being neglected by the federal and provincial government, more and more people in the province are being included in the list of below-poverty-line population. Mostly, rural areas are in the worst condition possible, since their only source of income is agriculture and due to droughts in the province, their only means of livelihood is destroyed.

On the other hand, the province’s unemployment ratio is touching the sky with most of the graduates unemployed. As a result, domestic crimes like kidnapping, killing, child abduction and robberies are born.

Illiteracy rate of the province is also on the rise. Many schools are reported to be shelterless, some are being run by a single teacher while many more are said to be out of function these days. Education should always be the first priority for any nation to progress but this is not the case in Balochistan

Illiteracy rate of the province is also on the rise. Many schools are reported to be shelterless, some are being run by a single teacher while many more are said to be out of function these days. Education should always be the first priority for any nation to progress but this is not the case in Balochistan.

Additionally, Balochi singers are also neglected because of the less importance given to the province. This is sidelining the literature of Balochis compared to the other provinces of the state.

In fact, Balochistan is neglected even when it comes to sports. Many players in Balochistan who succeed to perform great performances in domestic tournaments go unnoticed when it comes to national or international level. Just because we belong to Balochistan, we go unnoticed when it comes to providing opportunities.

Unfortunately, Balochistan also lacks Cancer hospitals due to which hundreds of people die each year when they are diagnosed with cancer at later stages and do not have the subsequent resources to get treatment. It is necessary that in every corner of Balochistan, healthcare facilities are available so that the locals at least have easy access to the facilities.

Lastly, the federal and provincial governments should take care of the blessed province which is being deprived of its basic right and try to come up with strong institutional reforms to solve the recurring problems that the province faces.

Published in Daily Times, February 11^th 2019.