IMAGES FROM BALOCHISTAN: A Tale of Promise, Prejudice & Potential
Bushra Zulfiqar
BALOCHISTAN is the most breathtakingly beautiful but equally bitter Province of Pakistan. Bleeding at the hands of a ruthless separatist struggle, ethnically targeted killings and with thousands of people gone missing, life in Balochistan is that of fear, violence and a blatant abuse of human rights. The Province which is larger than Germany and covers more than 44% of Pakistan, has huge deposits of gold, copper, coal, lead and other natural resources. It offers the most spectacular landscape of a tall, hazy brown mountain range, against gray skies with a peculiar chill. The social repression is further compounded by the stark levels of poverty, economic suffering and a consistent lack of opportunities to secure livelihoods. Contrary to the enriched mineral and natural resources that Balochistan has, its population seems completely denied of that wealth, doomed to go further down the drain. The Province has the highest prevalence of rural poverty in Pakistan (at 70%) and according to UN’s human development index, 10 out of the 20 lowest ranking Districts in Pakistan are from Balochistan. These are the places where 91% of the population lives. To add further to this depressing list of statistics, let me quote the World Food Programme, which has declared that 13 most under fed Districts of Pakistan are that of Balochistan. So ugly is the reality, which is a result of decades of political exploitation and injustices for the control of resources, economic deprivation and lack of a people centered approach to development. Read More »IMAGES FROM BALOCHISTAN: A Tale of Promise, Prejudice & Potential
