Modi’s provocative statement about Balochistan was bound to evoke the ire of Balochis so it was quite natural on their part to stage rallies throughout the nook and cranny of Balochistan against the Indian prime minister.
Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan though it is scarcely populated. Towards its west lie Iran and Afghanistan and towards its south flows Arabian sea. It is blessed with natural mineral wealth galore and it is also strategically located on the world map. Small wonder in the past, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and Britain had been, from time to time, casting their evil eye on it. That most of its people should be victim of poverty is a tragedy of the first magnitude for which all the successive governments in this country since 1948 must take the flak. If the rulers of this country had spent reasonable money on various developmental works inside Balochistan by keeping its tribal chieftains, from which there could be no escape for the moment, in good humour, and also keeping direct links with the commoners no body would have dared to accuse the federal government of discriminating among the provinces in the matters of allocation of funds for development. The fact of the matter is that Balochistan was ignored in this respect. Our rulers should take a lesson from a former British civil servant Robert Sandeman who had spent a bigger part of his career in Balochistan . He had won the heart of the Balochis through his dedicated public service. So popular had he become that when he died the Balochis demanded that he be buried in Balochistan so in deference to their wishes he was laid to rest in Baluchistan and his dead body wasn’t taken to England. It is never late to make amends for one’s past mistakes. It is about time that special attention be given to Baluchistan in all respects. Better late than never.
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