KARACHI:
Despite being the largest province of Pakistan and the richest in resources, Balochistan is treated as a pariah. The people of Balochistan are living in miserable conditions due to the absence of basic amenities. People across the province do not have access to necessities as basic as water, electricity, education, and healthcare.
Despite having two operational dams, most people in Balochistan do not have access to clean drinking water. People are required to travel to far-flung areas to gather water for domestic use. Moreover, healthcare facilities are almost non-existent due to which the morbidity rate across the province is high. Patients in critical condition and those in need of emergency assistance cannot travel long distances to receive healthcare support. Only major cities have proper hospitals, and even those are poorly equipped. In addition, the education system is shambolic. Most schools in the province do not have proper infrastructure and lack adequate teaching faculty. Teachers only show up during the examination periods while students are required to learn things on their own. In rare cases where schools do have teaching staff, the teachers do not have enough experience and the curriculum is usually outdated. The situation is much worse in remote parts of the province where people are entirely unaware of the concept of education.
Due to deprivation, poverty, and a lack of educational and employment opportunities, many people have resorted to criminal activities. Considering all these issues, I humbly request both the federal and the provincial government to take pragmatic measures to resolve the issues of Balochistan at the earliest.
Muhammad Zarif
Balochistan
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2021.
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