BALOCHISTAN’S woes are endless just like its vast expanse of barren land. The country’s largest province in terms of area is so backward that it sometimes seems to be from another century. As if apathy shown by successive governments was not enough, nature also doesn’t seem to smile on this godforsaken land.

The province faces a severe water shortage, and women and children have to go miles to fetch dirty, murky water, as seen in the accompanying photograph, and consider themselves lucky if they get some. The neighbouring districts of Dera Bugti and Kohlu are the hardest hit in this regard, and the small, sun-baked town of Pir Koh in Dera Bugti made headlines last month after a cholera outbreak claimed several lives.

My area, Tambo tehsil in Kohlu, is no exception and faces a water crisis caused by drought. However, water scarcity is not the only cause for concern in Balochistan. The province has all sorts of problems, including insurgency, underdevelopment, lack of health and education facilities, high child mortality rates, etc. Any problem seen elsewhere is also present in Balochistan and on a much larger scale.

Even after 75 years of Pakistan’s independence, the poor people of this resource-rich province are apparently left to fend for themselves. It is distressing to see provincial and federal governments turning a blind eye to human suffering here.

Unfortunately, our politicians seem too busy serving their own interests and ousting their rivals from power by whatever means possible. Will the state ever think of changing its policy?

Farooq Marri
Kohlu

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2022