Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province in terms of land area. It is the province with the least population but with the most resources.
Balochistan has a long coastline that connects to the Arabian Sea in the south. It shares an 814-kilometer border with Iran and a 1096-kilometer border with Afghanistan in the west.
The local people’s complaints and issues about the state of development, or lack thereof, in Balochistan are without a doubt genuine. There is no doubt that the province has been neglected for six decades and has fallen to the bottom of the ruling elite’s priority list.
The basic necessities of life, such as health care, education, communication, and infrastructure, are in shambles. According to Pakistan’s Economic Survey, Balochistan is a far less developed and, in many ways, slowest growing province.
According to the recently released National Economic Survey (NES), it has the lowest literacy rate among both males and females, the lowest ranking in the Gender Parity Index (GPI), and the smallest presence of private educational institutes in the country. Poor transportation and communication infrastructure is a major impediment to the province’s progress.
The socio-political evils that prevail are illiteracy, injustice, female oppression, and ignorance of individual rights.
According to the Social Policy Development Center 2005 report, the percentage of the population living in a high degree of deprivation is highest in Balochistan [88 percent in Balochistan, 51 percent in the NWFP, 49 percent in Sindh, and 25 percent in Punjab].
According to poverty-related reports, the percentage of Balochistan’s population living below the poverty line is 63 percent.
Adnan G.R
Quetta