GWADAR: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said on Sunday that military operations cannot resolve the deepening unrest in Balochistan, arguing instead that unemployment and a lack of education are the primary drivers of frustration among the province’s youth.

Addressing a Bano Qabil ceremony organised by the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, Mr Rehman said peace cannot be enforced through the barrel of a gun. He called for a strategy centred on ensuring jobs, education, and constitutional rights.

“When unemployment prevails and the Baloch people are denied their rights, anger against the state is a natural outcome,” he said. “The problems cannot be solved at gunpoint; people must be given their due rights.”

Mr Rehman spoke as thousands of boys and girls appeared for entry tests for free IT courses. He noted that nearly 50 per cent of school-age children in Balochistan are out of school and that while roughly 150,000 jobs are available in the province, nearly four million youth remain unemployed.

“When there is economic deprivation and people’s loved ones go missing, how can the public be expected to fully abide by the law?” he asked.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2026