As children of Balochistan, we often wonder what does it truly mean to be rich? Is it the abundant resources we have under our feet, or the power and authority over making the decisions on how they are used? Balochistan has a vast coastline of 770 kilometers and mineral reserves that could fuel economies. I am debating over the use of “could” when I should be putting “can”. As Balochistan with its resources should be thriving, it has the potential but it is deprived, not because it lacks in wealth or any other factor but because it lacks control over its resources.
One story is repeated throughout Balochistan, from the Saindak Copper-Gold Project to Reko Diq to the Gwadar Deep Seaport. After the wealth is extracted, profits are divided and the deals sealed, Balochistan graciously receives its generous share, A WHOLE 2%, pardon my mistake, it was increased to a grand of 6.5%, just enough to always have the remainder that it was never meant to have more. While Balochistan receives the grand share, the rest is funneled elsewhere, which means the things left behind are roads that never get built, hospitals that never receive funding, and institutions that struggle to sustain themselves. Is it an economic disparity? No, it’s not just an economic disparity but a deliberate arrangement that ensures that Balochistan remains where it is, dependent and unable to rise on its own terms.
Now, we need to understand why slogans such as; “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) in France or South Africa’s “Amandla! Awethu!” (Power! To the People!) or Cuba’s “Patria o Muerte, Venceremos” (Homeland or Death, We Will Win) exist in the first place. These or any other slogan that had existed is never solely connected to politics, remember everything builds around it. And the reason of such slogans existing is that they were never just words but a deeply rooted reflection of inequalities of societies – the societies where economic survival or any kind of survival is tied to a power structure that determines everything and the societies have no part in any kind of saying.
A case that is no different is the Sui Gas, powering industries far beyond Balochistan’s borders, yet when it comes to its own land, it is almost like as if the gas fields never existed. Again, because the royalties and the resources for its own land are negligible and the REAL representation in decisions making remains symbolic, when there is no REAL seat to sit at, there is no voice. And when there is no voice, there is obviously no future being shaped by the people who live on this land.
Something we hear often enough is someone mentioning they are heading to Karachi or Lahore. One might not think much of it until in passing, someone else asks, Why Karachi? Why Lahore? Or any other place and that’s when it hits you. A land so vast and rich in resources and historically significant has no national level hospitals. Something as fundamental as healthcare, yet, its people have to look elsewhere. No institution medically equipped to handle the emergencies of those who belong here? It doesn’t ends on healthcare, the students have to leave not because they want to but because they have to get that education and those who remain behind, the teachers and professors, go unpaid, BLATANTLY IRONIC. This is a failure of governance, a failure of recognition, a failure of equity; what it’s not is a failure of resources.
Understanding equity, one thing we should keep in mind is that, equity is not a singular concept, it doesn’t exist in isolation. In fact, social equity cannot stand without political and economic equity. Sovereignty precedes prosperity. When the people of its own land are denied the power to govern its land, their politics suffers. When politics suffer, economies weakens. When economies weaken, their people are left without opportunities, without resources, without even the mental capacity to think beyond survival. What a land cannot do is, thrive under inequity and yet, that is precisely the condition that is imposed upon Balochistan.
For Balochistan, trade should have been a lifeline, it is the land which connects to two countries; Iran and Afghanistan, yet these borders remain closed to economic opportunities. Why is there stagnation, when there could be industry? Why is there despair, when there could be employment? What does the youth do in return when it sees no means to build a life? The same pattern of negligence follows everywhere, even for environmental policies. There came many policies, like the billion trees which were promised didn’t quite see the vast and barren lands of Balochistan. Or where hundred dams were planned, but only a few materialized in the region that needed them the most. Talking about the coastline, the same coastline that could end the electricity crisis with wind energy remains ignored, only because Balochistan is not permitted to act in its own best interests.
The question was never whether Balochistan is rich in resources, it is. The question is not whether Balochistan has potential, it does. The real question is: Who holds the power to decide what is done with it?
The story would be different if the authority rested within Balochistan, where its people determined the course of their own land. People who live and breathe the realities of this land would shape economic policies. Investment would go where they are truly needed. Because equity, true equity, is about survival and self determination and the power to create a future without waiting for permission.
So, the question remains:
Do we need a new social contract where Balochistan has full authority over its trade, its resources, and its future? Or is something entirely different the solution to an equitable Balochistan?
