Restrictions on foreigners in Balochistan

Islamabad needs to allow at least some foreigners to explore investment opportunities in Balochistan.

At least five officials of a Gulf country’s diplomatic mission in Karachi were detained overnight in Kalat district recently for visiting Balochistan without obtaining prior permission from the interior ministry. Many foreign journalists and aid workers routinely lodge complaints that they are often not welcome in Balochistan and require a no objection certificate from the interior ministry for security clearance, which can take weeks, if not months. Foreigners are denied access even during times of natural disasters, including after the earthquake in Awaran last year.

Provincial home department officials claim that security is the primary reason for this state of affairs as foreigners could be easily targeted or kidnapped. Currently, officials of friendly countries in Pakistan are also not allowed to go outside of Quetta. Iran established a consulate in Quetta more than a century ago, but no Iranian diplomat has been allowed to visit Gwadar or any other place in the province.

Some foreign journalists have been caught in and around Quetta while reporting on militancy and the Afghan civil war from Quetta. They were ultimately sent back to either Islamabad or their respective countries. Foreigners, whether journalists or tourists, who dare to come to Balochistan, are commonly perceived as spies. Two Czech women went missing and were suspected to be Western spies.

While the government claims it wants to promote development and economic prosperity, it is pursuing a policy that discourages access to foreigners, including potential investors interested in Gwadar, by barring them from travelling to Balochistan. Foreigners in Quetta and elsewhere in the province get to move around through ‘conducted tours’, which are arranged by officials.

Provincial and federal authorities are spending billions of rupees on security by deploying security personnel but the residents of the province and any foreigners who venture here still cannot be assured of being safe. It seems that we are paying a huge chunk of money for nothing. Islamabad needs to change its policy and allow at least some foreigners to explore investment opportunities in Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2014.