BALOCHISTAN (Pakistan): The increased Chinese footprint in the region and Pakistan’s lack of concern has brought not just Baloch activists and anti-regime radicals onto the streets, but teenagers as well. They are involved in coordinated terror attacks, reported International Forum for Right and Security (IFFRAS).
In fact, the first female suicide bomber ever known was affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army. This is the gravity of the resistance movement because Pakistan for more than 70 years has treated the Baloch as second-class citizens.
Pakistani rich get richer from gas and mineral-rich Balochistan, while Balochis get poorer because they have no say over their own land!, reported IFFRAS.
Baloch activists are furious over Chinese aggression in their land. Pakistan army believes it can take whatever resources they want, and subjugate and silence the Baloch struggle with an iron fist. Pakistan has teamed with China to ransack Baloch resources.
Though CPEC is termed a “game-changer” it has been a disaster for Balochistan since its inception. People have lost all their sources of income. A humble fisherman cannot fish in Gwadar because the Chinese have it under their control under the guise of CPEC. How the people will earn their livelihood is not of any concern to the government, reported IFFRAS.
According to data, the Metallurgical Construction Company (MCC), a Chinese company that mines gold, silver, and copper in Balochistan singlehandedly made a profit of USD 75 million in 2021. The region is the quickest way for China to print money.
A percentage of the amount goes to the Pakistan establishment and Baloch is not given a single penny. Mined lands lay open for further deterioration of the area and the residents bear the environmental and safety hazards that come with it.
Mining has also polluted the outdated water supply channels leaving only 25 percent of water drinkable. Despite being aware of the situation, the Punjab government has never honored the 1991 water treaty on the distribution of water. While Punjabis have enough to refill their swimming pools daily, the Balochis are committing suicide over a glassful of it, reported IFFRAS.
The situation in Balochistan is so grim that the suicide rates are skyrocketing. The July 2022 floods forced 1.3 million out of their homes in the province alone. 64,000 houses were washed away and 185,000 are in dilapidated condition. Thousands of acres of cultivated land were destroyed and 500,000 livestock died.
While the Shahbaz Sharif-led government collects funds worldwide for this cause, local Baloch do not anticipate a single rupee coming their way.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is slowly pushing people into an abyss of absolute darkness.
Some compare the psychological damage of seven and a half decades of violence by the Pakistani Army in the region with the disastrous floods and have concluded that together the two have created a vortex of unending misery that will surely swallow Balochistan in 2023, reported IFFRAS.
They wouldn’t even let Balochistan buy wheat from somewhere else as in the last three months Balochistan has not received its share of PKR 11 billion from the National Finance Commission (NFC) for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure. The government does not even try to hide its blatant discrimination against its people! (ANI)