The killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a political figure and the province-wide protest it sparked, would intensify the feelings of alienation among Balochis, making their entry into the national political mainstream far more difficult. At this point of time, its consequences on the development process in the province are also uncertain.

Politics and economics are deeply inter-related. From the point of view of economics, the present rulers have made serious efforts to develop the neglected province and started mega projects including Gwadar port. These mega projects open up Balochistan for both foreign and domestic investors.

But the Balochi reservations about sharing of benefits of these projects have not been removed. Unfortunately, the rulers have not fared well on political front. The political issues linked to these mega projects remain unresolved.

The three main issues agitating the Balochis are;

(1) setting up of military cantonments in Gwadar, Kohlu and the Bugti tribal area;

(2) the lack of employment opportunities for locals in the ongoing mega projects and

(3) the serious reservations about the entire development process.

When the centre decided to set up military cantonments without taking the local leaders into confidence, many Baloch senators accused the government of launching an unannounced military operation. A parliamentary committee was set up to achieve political reconciliation. The committee contacted Nawab Akbar Bugti and discussed the related issues with him but the recommendations made by it in consultations with Akbar Bugti were not implemented.

Military actions in the past have also created political instability, centre-province disharmony, social chaos and intensified feelings of frustration and alienation among the Baluchis and subsequently retarded the process of economic development in the province.

Nawab Akbar Bugti was a veteran Baloch nationalist leader. The nationalists contend that the real beneficiaries of the on-going mega projects would be the non-locals and aliens.

They base their judgment on historical realities, post-independence policies of discrimination and the development strategies of the decision-makers in Islamabad.

The nationalist interpret the ongoing process of development as the politics of development. This politics, they contend, will continue to keep the people of this province deprived, poor, least developed and most backward.

They contend that uplift programmes reflect the federal government