ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: The incidence of poverty is higher in Balochistan than any other province despite the fact that it is endowed with rich reserves of gas, oil, coal, gold and copper. ‘Conflict in Balochistan’, a report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), not only highlights the gross violations of human rights, extrajudicial killings, torture and kidnapping but also poverty that has been ruling the province since independence.
The report, launched on Sunday, reveals how natural resources turn out to be a matter of threat and survival for the people who own them.
Natural gas was discovered in Balochistan in 1950s but it was only in 1976 that the province got its first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Quetta. Later, gas through pipelines was made available in Quetta but Sui town, which houses the gas plant, does not have piped gas connections in most cases.
According to official records, Balochistan generates a revenue of Rs1.622 billion, apparently just enough to pay the monthly salaries of government officials. The provincial government receives a grant of Rs27 billion from the federal government and has a deficit of Rs15.5 billion.
The 12.5 per cent royalty fixed for gas, drawn from Sui area, was based on “wallhead value”, which was much below market value received by other gas fields in other provinces, reveals a report of the inter-party Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan accommodated by the HRCP’s report. The royalty is received by the provincial government.
Poverty is so much rampant that only 20 per cent of the people in Balochistan have access to safe drinking water compared to 86 per cent in the rest of Pakistan. Village electrification is only 25 per cent compared to 75 per cent in the rest of the country.
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 people is 108 in the province as against 100 in other parts of the country. The situation of basic amenities and access to education is also far below the ratio of other provinces.
However, the ongoing operation in Balochistan is pushing more and more people below poverty line.
A simmering insurgency has continued in Balochistan over the last three decades. But, since the early 1970s there had been no open armed conflict between the government and the Baloch tribes.
In early 2000, tension rose but in the beginning of 2005, it boiled over. The standoff over provincial rights with the federal government has, from time to time, ended in tension and violence.
The commission has made some recommendations in its report. It has demanded that the government’s development plans must be directed towards the full empowerment of the people of Balochistan. People must be recognized as stakeholders in the decision-making process and their interests must be placed at the top of the list of priorities.
It urges the government and tribal leaders to end the practice of penal sanctions through Jirgas as well as to do away with any form of private prisons that might exist. To meet the needs of the people, educational institutions and vocational training centres must be established across the province.
Development plans must be focused on building civil society, including establishing press clubs, bar associations and community radio and television networks. This would connect the population of Balochistan with the rest of the country.
“Misguided obsession with the state’s version of development while children are not able to go to school because of ongoing confrontation, will undermine development itself,” the commission has warned.
“The concern of the people of Balochistan regarding demographic balance in the province must be considered when making decisions. This is especially crucial with regard to mega projects, such as Gwadar port, and acquisition of land by those based outside the province,” the commission observes.
The HRCP has demanded that the civil administration in the province must remain accountable to their executive heads rather than taking orders from the paramilitary forces.
It has demanded unimpeded access of the human rights organizations to jails and police stations in the province. It stresses that law enforcement agencies be given training in human rights and humanitarian law. Their chain of command must be strictly adhered to and rule of engagement made public.
It demands that all places of irregular detention must be immediately closed down and the interior ministry should submit a report on this issue to the parliamentary committee on Balochistan.