Standing up for Baloch fishermen

The other day I came across a report which revealed that fishermen in Makran were accusing those in Sindh of encroaching Baloch waters and harming their livelihood. My first thought was that I had read it wrong as it sounded like one of those news headlines about India encroaching on Pakistan’s seas. However, reading it again, I realised that this headline was actually about Sindh and Balochistan – two provinces within one country.

Reading on, I found out that hundreds of fishermen had participated in a long march from the coastal town of Jewani to Gwadar port — a distance of 100 kilometres — to protest against trawlers from Sindh fishing illegally in Balochistan waters. According to protesters, Sindh trawlers were using illegal nets to catch fish from their waters, thereby depriving the local, poor fishermen of their livelihood.

The first thought that hits you when you read such news is this: where are we going as a country? A country’s resources are its collective strength, its pride and the basis on which its people move forward as a nation. And yet, here we find ourselves constantly divided and in dispute over the land, water, resources and rights of our own people.

As a resource-rich but financially and politically weak province, Balochistan has always been vulnerable to external exploitation and its people always bear the brunt of the lack of legislation and regulation. According to reports, only around 10 per cent of the total fish catch is consumed within Balochistan, 10 to 20 per cent is marketed and sold in Karachi and the other 70 to 80 per cent is exported. Originating from Balochistan, this should mean that the province gets to reap the benefits. Alas, that is not the case.

The majority of the population along the province’s coastal areas is employed in the fishing industry, either directly or indirectly. Some are fishermen while others make and repair boats, fishing nets and fishing equipment. Hence, the fact that they are alarmed at Sindh’s meddling in provincial waters comes as no surprise. These poor fishermen are being deprived of their already meagre earnings owing to big trawlers and companies which have better and more modern equipment and techniques.

According to Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, the trawler mafia makes billions from fishing in Balochistan waters. Although he has said that action will be taken against the trawler mafia, only time will tell if the people of Balochistan will be rid of this menace; or if they will continue to lose their own resources to the selfish interests of others.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2014.