It would have been great if the government was capable of dealing with the situation but, given the experiences of past six decades, it would be appropriate to conclude that it’s not. International humanitarian bodies should be requested to come forward and help the Baloch people at this difficult juncture.
The need for such help is highlighted all the more by the fact that there were only three doctors and a few more people at the hospital, in Awaran, to attend to the thousands of victims of the September 24 earthquake. There were no basic facilities available and the injured were shifted to either Khuzdar, nearby districts or all the way to Karachi. That was just the beginning. This disaster needs an immediate and effective response.
Journalists from the affected area have reported that so far, the emergency work being done is not adequate and many areas are still awaiting help. Conflicting figures about the death toll are going around. Sitting in comfort and taking an aerial survey is very easy. This has become a norm in all matters relating to Balochistan and people continue to say that “We can deal with the situation on our own, in order to show that Pakistan is not so weak, so as to not be able to deal with such a small problem”.
The government does not provide electricity, gas or other facilities to the remote areas, saying that the population is scarce and scattered over a vast landmass, which increases the costs incurred. The province is half the size of Pakistan but its infrastructure is shoddy, with many towns inaccessible via vehicles. There are a few hospitals but they have no doctors and there are schools but they have no teachers. But people continue to hear the slogan “We can deal with the situation” whenever it comes to Balochistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2013.
COMMENTS (7)
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i want to make home for balochi people . 2 i have need of organization for this work
@ivehadit: so you believe wikipedia that anyone can edit and can add its own statements but not what the same tribe says. Baloch people's from origin are arabs came from Yemen side of Middle East. and also most of the Baloch peoples are in Middle East and also they are called there Al Balushi. so basically we baloch are origin of Arabs.
Maybe you can't help. But we Pakistanis can. And we are helping our Baloch brothers. Although people are hesitant and there is a good reason for this.
Given that non-local people (from other provinces) and foreigners (working on dams) in Balochistan were killed many times by our 'peaceful' freedom fighters. It is, but natural, that civil society or 'journalists' fear arranging and taking relief goods to different places hit Balochistan.
The area of Balochistan is vast that is why even 'journalists' have trouble working and reporting, which gives rise to conflicting reports.
I don't agree with the author when he ridicules and minimizes the role of aerial survey in assessing the damage done by natural disasters. I wasn't aware that someone made 60 years worth of documentation on natural disasters and the 'weak' response by the Pakistani government. Kudos to the author for going through all those pages to write this negative piece.
BLF chief Allah Nazar asked for International and 'private' help. There was no response. That tells how much trust, the international community has, for our 'peaceful' freedom fighters.
@Freespirit:
Read your history before you assert such nonsense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balochistan,_Pakistan
@BrainDeadZombieFreedomFighters: Shame on you for having narrow and incorrect information about Baloch people. Pakistan it self has nothing but when it has Balochistan , the land of baloch people, it has everything.
And to think Pakistan wants Kashmir, it cannot take care of areas given to it, what are they whining about. The world wants to help the Balochi people but the Punjabi Pakistan wants them to suffer. Since the Balochi people are Arab by descent, the Punjabi Pakistan is at logger heads with them. The only common factor is that they are Muslims
Well Firstly foreign aid will be suspicious. Secondly the Baloch people are suspicious people themselves. They don't seem to want anything. They don't want to work towards a better relationship. They would rather side with the enemy and collect their donations. Frankly, they seem quite immature to accept the reality of today. You can't develope anything there simply because they'll look to destroy it the next day. The Baloch leaders are no different to any other Pakistani leaders. Make a fool out of everyone and enjoy a lavish lifestyle