Quetta, Feb 5 (IANS) The recent attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan are not only acts of violence but expressions of a deep, unresolved political conflict that has simmered for decades between the province and the Pakistani state. Balochistan has remained Pakistan's most underdeveloped province in terms of human development despite having massive natural resources like natural gas, copper, gold, coal, fisheries, and a strategically important coastline, a report has highlighted.
Balochistan has powered industries and urban centres in Pakistan for years. However, people in many parts of the province continue to remain deprived of reliable electricity, clean drinking water, quality education, and basic healthcare. Severe unemployment, especially educated youth, has resulted in people facing lack of opportunities, decision-making, and national ownership. The region has faced resource extraction, security operations and no announcement has been made regarding mega projects, Tarkeen-E-Watan, an online newspaper for overseas Pakistanis, detailed.
"The recent attacks in Balochistan are not isolated acts of violence, nor are they spontaneous security breakdowns triggered by momentary unrest. They are the latest expressions of a deep, unresolved political conflict that has simmered for decades between the province and the Pakistani state. Since Pakistan's inception, Balochistan has witnessed repeated cycles of insurgency each rooted in unmet political commitments, contested autonomy, and perceived denial of constitutional rights," Alamdar Hussain Malik wrote in Tarkeen-E-Watan.
"Militant groups operating in the region are now increasingly framing their actions as leverage for political concessions, economic justice, and structural reforms, signalling a shift from purely armed resistance to an explicitly political narrative. While violence against civilians and the state remains indefensible and must be condemned without qualification, reducing these events to a mere law-and-order problem ignores the deeper political fractures that continue to define Balochistan as Pakistan's most sensitive and volatile fault line," he added.
Successive governments in Pakistan have largely considered Balochistan as a security challenge instead of a political question. Each major incident is followed by increasing security operation, additional soldier deployments and stringent administrative controls.
"While the state has an undeniable responsibility to maintain law and order, decades of experience demonstrate that coercion without political engagement has failed to deliver sustainable peace. Instead, it has reinforced a narrative of control rather than inclusion, weakened trust in state institutions, and pushed political grievances further outside constitutional and democratic channels," wrote Malik.
"What distinguishes the current phase of unrest is the clarity and consistency of the militants' narrative. Their discourse has moved beyond vague slogans to specific demands for greater provincial autonomy, transparent resource management, fair revenue sharing, meaningful political representation, and economic inclusion," he mentioned further.
This evolution showcases that Balochistan is not about militancy but governance failure, federal imbalance, and the systematic marginalisation of a province within Pakistan's political economy.
Local authorities have frequently promoted large initiatives like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Gwadar Port, and mineral development projects as symbols of progress and national integration. However, local residents believe that these initiatives have transformed into land grabbing, environmental degradation, demographic anxiety, and exclusion from decision-making, the article in Tarkeen-E-Watan stated.
Development without consultation is not seen as an opportunity but as intrusion. Infrastructure without local employment causes resentment instead of growth and investment without political participation translates national ambition into local grievance, it concluded.
--IANS
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