Budgeting for Balochistan

Balochistan announced its Rs289.3 billion budget on June 19, with all the cliched vows of boosting investment and turning the province into a commercial and industrial hub. The rhetoric may sound pleasing if it wasn’t for the umpteenth time one had to hear it as the province continues to be neglected and remains plagued by security concerns. Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri may have unveiled a greater development expenditure — with schemes like the Quetta water project being announced in a bid to provide basic necessities to the provincial capital — but his announcements come in the aftermath of two high-profile officials, associated with the finance department no less, being investigated over corruption charges. Sadly, many of the budget announcements consisted of old promises that have been made several times before in preceding years.

Announcements of establishing a revenue board and making toilets available in public schools — at a cost of Rs1 billion — is one example of what the province has been lacking so far: the most basic infrastructure. While one could see the optimism associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridior (CPEC) when Mr Zehri spoke of the project, it is disappointing that he also had to caution against potential threats to the project that could slow down the speed of completion. Balochistan is a key part of the CPEC endeavour and hence its budget has significant importance. The project, along with the Gwadar port, has been termed a game changer and it is, but work needs to be done to get it to that stage. Statements and promises will not get us far. In the context of the CPEC and the general wellbeing of Balochistan, the budget promises are enlightening and need to be pursued with vigour. After a long time, Balochistan has come under the limelight, and if the insurgency and unrest that has been plaguing it for years is curbed, it has the potential to change course for the better. There are elements that want the province to continue as a neglected backwater, but it is now time to eliminate such miscreants. The stakes have never been higher.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2016.

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