Pakistan is home to many communities which have their own traditions, cultures, heroes and language. Of all these communities, the Baloch is most alienated and neglected. Recently, there are some incidents taking place which are manifesting the discontentment and frustration of Baloch people regarding to state and other communities.
There is no denying that Baloch community is surrounded with innumerable challenges. Some of these are natural and others are inflicted. Poverty, a lack of resources, absence of potable water, food scarcity, the down-trodden educational system, lack of health facilities, the need for infrastructure and censorship on media are some major challenges which the province is confronting. Moreover, what is rubbing salt over their long-festering wounds is the state’s persistent negligence over these grave concerns.
As we are all familiar, the province is going through a rehabilitation phase after the floods and unabated rains have wreaked havoc in the region. Now, the province is lacking basic needs for its survival. Besides this, the students of Balochistan, who are pursuing their education in different cities, don’t have any means left to pay their academic fees. As areas are submerged in water and people are fighting with flood stricken diseases.
Nonetheless, a flood is a natural calamity which cannot be stopped. However, there are many human-induced disasters which could be mitigated by just changing attitudes and mindsets. Even elected representatives of the province are vehemently warning the state that seeds of hatred which the state is sowing would be difficult to eradicate. Mr. Akthar Mengal’s latest speech in the national assembly is a stark elucidation of this. He clearly denounced the fake encounters in which innocent people are represented as terrorists. In short, there is a great realisation among the civilian leadership that the situation is going to worsen day by day.
This behavior is leading the country to disintegration and affecting the dignity of Pakistan. Additionally, the province could be used to rise militancy and terrorism against the state which would further deteriorate the situation of law and order in the state. Pakistan with its shattered economy cannot afford insurgencies again.
Now, I do recognize that some half-hearted attempts have been made by successive governments to address these grievances but it’s merely lip service. The rising middle class and the student community of Balochistan are not oblivious of their vulnerable lifestyles. In a nut-shell, it would be convenient to say that the government of Pakistan should take some pertinent and pragmatic measures to make their living standards better so they could think of themselves as citizens of the state and play their role in the progress and prosperity of the country.
ZAFAR RIAZ GONDAL,
Islamabad.