THE first thing that pops into ones mind whenever the Balochistan issue is discussed is that development of basic infrastructure in the province ought to be the first priority of the provincial government.
While travelling to Quetta the only thing one views while peering down the plane window is endless stretch of parched land guarded by magnificent mountains, without any signs of life. Yet people are living, albeit in small numbers, in subhuman conditions that are surely beyond our metropolitan imagination.
What the eye does not capture while viewing the dusty terrain is the treasure that lies beneath the golden soil transforming the barren land into the most fertile realm, the kind that pirates had sought to explore for unearthing immeasurable fortunes that promised to transform them into kings and monarchs.
This colossal wealth mocks the backwardness of the province where people remain undernourished bodily, mentally and spiritually. This forces us to realise that water, electricity, hospitals, schools and higher education institutes are what they require on an urgent basis.
The recently inaugurated sports complex and the medical institute in the Quetta garrison by the army chief where the land belonging to the army has been dedicated to such institutes, where youths of the province would be allowed to exercise their abilities is surely a welcome step.
Stemming from the realisation that protracted deprivation of the masses needs to be addressed urgently and comprehensively, the army has taken a small step towards boosting relations and building confidence. That the total expenditure on the sports complex has been about Rs8 million shows the fact that resources play a much smaller role than the will that translates such projects, either small or big, into a tangible form.
Projects such as these would help to bring many Baloch youths closer to their dreams, but more is needed. The onus is now on the provincial government to take over the affairs of the province by exercising their authority and will.
Once the will of the government comes into action, the entire socio-economic structure of the province can be transformed. With development starting in earnest, the separatist narrative will automatically lose its appeal. Talking to a bunch of students from Quetta it was revealed that their main concern had been the acquisition of knowledge that they thought they had been deprived of and the need to be linked to the rest of the country.
Modern education, skilled educationists, well-reputed institutions, speedy Internet connectivity, cool multinational hangouts and outlets are some of the things that youths of Balochistan crave for.
A modernised and secure Balochistan is the ultimate dream of the people who dwell there with their existence shadowed by the cloud of an insurgency in which they have no interest.
LUBNA UMAR
