KARACHI:
Pakistan is a mosaic of cultures, woven from the threads of four provinces. Yet, a shadow looms over a vital element of our identity: the Balochi language. While Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa celebrate their languages, Balochi faces neglect. Balochistan is the only province where the mother tongue is systematically ignored in education.
How can we claim equality when one of our foundational languages is treated as a stranger in its own land? Balochi faces an existential crisis. Without formal curriculum or support, our children grow up disconnected from their heritage. This is not just cultural loss — it breaches their right to learn in their mother tongue.
I appeal to our Honourable Chief Minister and Education Minister to make Balochi compulsory from primary to higher secondary levels, develop curricula celebrating the language and its literature and establish teacher training programmes for effective learning. Balochistan is the land of the Baloch, and its language deserves respect.
Let us not wait for our children to ask why their language was never taught. Let this be the moment we rise to protect our heritage.
Imran Zahid
Turbat
