Baloch People Protest Socioeconomic Inequities Due To Exploitation By China And Islamabad

(MENAFN- Khaama Press) Frequent protests in Gwadar against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have brought to the fore their exploitation and socio-economic disparities between Balochistan and the rest of the country. While China and the Islamabad government have prospered using the resources in Balochistan, the local people, however, remained deprived.

They now want the Chinese out and the Islamabad government to stop discrimination and exploitation.

China will make billions and get access to the Middle East once the CPEC and its essential component, Gwadar Port are constructed. China is already engaged in gold and copper mining in Balochistan, but the locals do not get anything except menial jobs.[1] Chinese mining companies and Islamabad earn most of the revenue, while the provincial Balochistan government gets just 2 per cent.

Rejecting Chinese claims of infrastructure building in mining areas, activist Kazim Baloch said,“Mud houses, muddy and unpaved roads, a lack of potable water, poverty, deprivation, underdevelopment and backwardness still rule,” said Baloch. People in Balochistan do not want China-led development activities in their areas citing they only worsened their situation.[2]

The CPEC claims to have the potential to create jobs and boost economic growth. However, the Balochistan youth will not benefit as the province lacks vocational training institutes and technical training centres, said Karachi-based independent researcher Anam Iqbal.“The province lacks the necessary infrastructure and funding to develop these institutions on a large scale,” she said.[3]

Balochistan has witnessed several protests against the CPEC as locals appear convinced that it would only exacerbate their plight. Holding protests under the banner of 'Give Gwadar its Rights', thousands of protestors, including women and children, complained about Chinese presence and their exploitation.“We don't need anything from CPEC. All we want from our government is to stop snatching our sources of livelihood, which is being done by allowing illegal trawling and strict border management,” said local political leader Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman.[4]

The Islamabad government has resorted to violent suppression of the Baloch people, which often led to the death of innocent people.“The paramilitary force opened fire on a convoy comprising hundreds of people, including women and children,” said Bebarg Baloch, a representative of Baloch National Gathering.[5] Several global human rights organisations have expressed concerns over the exploitation and inhumane treatment of Baloch people by Islamabad instead of listening to their grievances and demands.[6] [7] [8]

Former Pakistani diplomat Asif Durrani said Balochistan has had the lowest Human Development Index, highest poverty, high dropout rates, and lowest economic growth and income generation compared to the rest of the provinces in Pakistan, despite abundant natural resources.“Political bickering apart, serious governance issues due to incompetence and corruption keep Balochistan at the lowest rung of development indices,” he said.[9]

Amid growing socioeconomic inequalities and diminishing confidence in the CPEC as a source of prosperity, people in Balochistan have begun seeking Chinese investments as a modern form of colonisation.“Baloch nationalists believe the CPEC will incentivize Punjabi settlers who have skills to take up jobs in Balochistan and refer to it as 'neo-colonialism' by Punjabis in collaboration with China. The CPEC is often called the 'China-Punjab Economic Corridor',” Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies said in its report.[10]

Brahamdagh Bugti, leader of the Baloch Republican Party, said the Chinese projects aimed to” colonise” the province and must be resisted.“None of the previous development projects in Balochistan have ever been beneficial to the province or its ...Islamabad has never sought the consent of the Baloch people before initiating these projects. It is obvious that they are not launched to boost the province's economy or help people out of poverty. They are started for the benefit of the rulers in Islamabad,” he said.[11]

For Pakistanis, CPEC is a platform to change their lives, while the Chinese see it as an instrument to protect the Belt Road Initiative, explains Professor Xuemei Qian of Peking University.[12] Baloch people have vowed to continue their opposition to Chinese projects in Balochistan.“China, you came here without our consent, supported our enemies, helped the Pakistani military in wiping out our villages, but now it is our turn. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) guarantees that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will fail miserably on Baloch land,” said a rebel Baloch leader in a video.[13]

Sources:

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[9] #:~:text=Poverty%3A%20Poverty%20is%20widespread%20and,at%20National%20Level%20in%202015.

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