Walk the talk in Gwadar

A thaw reached between Baloch protesters and the government is in need of being realised into a long-term reconciliation. The restive province has seen enough nuisance in terms of bad governance, corruption and lawlessness. The complexity stands compounded with the intricate issue of missing persons tilting the emotions of the people towards defiance and revulsion. This is where a genuine focus is needed to address the pestering issue, which is now directly related to societal unrest. Likewise, under-development and denial of rights of the locals is an enigma and it is incomprehensive as to why the people are made to suffer for their right to life and social mobility for the sake of retaining the status quo.

This stand-off between the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and the authorities has much to do with unkept promises, and the manner the locals are mistreated. Moreover, the district administrations’ highhandedness is at the root of unrest as protesters are rounded up and roads blocked at discretion. This is what led to brawls across Gwadar and many other adjoining areas, as after six days of peaceful protest, the agitators were forced to disperse and the highway linkage between Sindh and Balochistan was severed. This is madness on the part of authorities, and comes with the added inefficiency of not disbursing the due right of the locals.

The promise to release all arrested activists should follow up with judicious scrutiny and relief in the case of missing persons. It is high time to understand that as people go missing and authorities are non-compliant, it leads to fissures, and the gap is exploited by unscrupulous elements and foreign handlers for nefarious designs. This is what Balochistan is today, and the gravity is blown up with lopsided treatment in development. In the theatre of geo-economics with Chinese investment pouring in, why should Baloch sit at the fences in misery and joblessness. Time to take a broader perspective of the house in disorder and empower the province in real terms.