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Is the situation in Balochistan similar to East Pakistan?

Savak

Savak

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I have met several people who have gone to Balochistan in the last few years, while they admit that the entire region is mostly a desert and that it is not as well developed as other Pakistani cities but the people over there were mostly very happy, spoke Urdu and clearly identified themselves as Pakistanis.

On the other hand you hear about things like Balochi's being very disillusioned with Pakistan, wanting cessation/independence and the Balochistan Liberation Front which is receiving funding from RAW via Afghanistan to destabliize Pakistan.

Some people claim that Balochistan is neglected compared to the rest of the country, but others claim that it is the fuedals in Balochistan who are the real problem and who are the biggest impediments to development in that region. Pakistan has built the Gwadar port in Balochistan which will pave way for trade and economic development in that region.

I don't personally believe that the situation in Balochistan is similar to East Pakistan at all by any stretch of the imagination any claims to this effect is just propanganda.
 
I was a Punjabi settler in Baluchistan(and my family lived there).When I first came to Islamabad in 2007 I lived in Baluchistan House and a lot of baluchi people there were against Pakistan and specially punjabis but in the last five years or so I have observed that they have changed for the better.
The situation of Baluchistan has improved a lot recently and people there are again starting to be patriotic towards their country
 
Nope. For starters, East Pakistan had a gigantic population - even higher than West Pakistan as of 1971. Balochistan on the other hand has a scant number of people who are by now adulterated with people from other parts of the country.

India is trying hard to cause a ripple there, but in vain.
 
Varun said:
Nope. For starters, East Pakistan had a gigantic population - even higher than West Pakistan as of 1971. Balochistan on the other hand has a scant number of people who are by now adulterated with people from other parts of the country.

India is trying hard to cause a ripple there, but in vain.
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Glad to see an Indian this honest. On a serious note, apparently the Balochi people make 4% of the Pakistani population. But they share a lot with the rest of Pakistan i.e. the national language Urdu, love for the Pakistani Cricket team. Apparently what i have heard that there are a lot more Pathans than Balochis in Balochistan.

The region of Balochistan is very rich in natural resources, minerals and the Pakistani govt claims it is pressed for funds to do proper development projects over there
 
Savak said:
The region of Balochistan is very rich in natural resources, minerals and the Pakistani govt claims it is pressed for funds to do proper development projects over there
Click to expand...

my father was a bureaucrat and he says that whatever funds Baluchistan government is provided are consumed by practice like corruption.So no point in increasing their funding but if we can improve education system in Balochistan a lot can change.After Bugti's death baloch people were brainwashed by their sardars and waderas and thus became rebellious against Pakistan but in the past few years the situation has changed and I think this is the time for us to plant the seed of education which can decide balochistan's fate in the years to come
 
As per latest reports, Pakistan army has suffered 50+ deaths today of its security personnel at the hands of the Baloch freedom fighters.
 
Can't give a respectable life to their own citizens and these thug looters will give jannat to Kahsmir which is part of the 4 th largest economy in the world....looks like the Baloch wants to get the oppressors...
Love how the pak agent in Reuters is still spreading false propaganda and BBC is lapping all this up..it's time the world wakes up to the pak infiltration of Reuters...well only when the West is attacked by these vermin's...they will know
 
Hold a referendum now. Give the people of Balochistan what they want.
 
BouncerGuy said:
You hold a referendum in Kashmir and give those people what they want.

HAIHIMMAT???
Click to expand...

I don't believe in the right to self-determination for provinces/states within a country. But Pakistan do. They've said that repeatedly in their official press conferences. I am merely holding them to their stated principles. Hypocrisy is sad.
 
Balochistan and Pakistan should settle their disputes and act like good neighbours. Good luck to both the nations.
 
RexRex said:
Hold a referendum now. Give the people of Balochistan what they want.
Click to expand...
BouncerGuy said:
You hold a referendum in Kashmir and give those people what they want.

HAIHIMMAT???
Click to expand...

Actually, the Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir (UT) outperforms Balochistan (Pakistan) across key economic, social, political, and growth-outlook indicators. J&K actually is richer state than few other Indian states.


Indicator​

Balochistan (Pakistan)​

Jammu & Kashmir (India UT)​

Population (2023 est.)~15 million~13 million
Area (km²)~347,000~222,236
Per capita incomeBelow national average (far behind Pakistan average)~₹1,54,703 (~US$1,900) in 2024-25 with ~10% growth expected (labour.balochistan.gov.pk)
GDP / GSDP size & growthNo strong recent data; regional economy stagnant or weakGSDP ~₹2.6-2.8 trillion; real growth ~7.06 % in 2024-25; nominal ~11.1 % (jkplanning.gov.in)
Human Development Index (HDI)~0.444 (low) – worst provincial HDI in Pakistan (labour.balochistan.gov.pk)Higher than most Indian states (roughly medium-high, ~0.7+ by subnational estimates) (India Brand Equity Foundation)
Multidimensional povertyVery high (>70 %) in many districts; 17 of 20 poorest districts in Pakistan Estimated low (<5 %) and declining significantly (The Kashmir Horizon)
Literacy rate~42 % overall (very low) with female literacy even lower (Republic Policy)~68.7 % (much higher literacy) (India Brand Equity Foundation)
School infrastructureMany schools non-functional; ~1,700 non-functional; infrastructure poor (slguardian.org)Thousands of schools (e.g., hundreds in districts like Budgam) and expanding; education investment ongoing (Wikipedia)
Health infrastructureClinics scarce; reports indicate over 656 facilities partially operational; infant mortality high (~66/1,000) (slguardian.org)Multiple district hospitals, medical colleges (e.g., Government Medical College, Srinagar + associated hospitals), expanding tertiary care (Wikipedia)
Access to basic services (water, sanitation, electricity)Very poor: large share with no toilets, poor housing, water gaps Significantly better access overall with ongoing investment (no equivalent extreme deprivation data)
Tourism volume (recent)Limited due to security/infrastructure40 million tourists in ~2 years (~2023-25) (The Times of India)
Unemployment rateHigh, especially youth; many idle workersModerating; ~6.1 % in 2023-24 and falling (The Kashmir Horizon)
Level of autonomy (political)Provincial status within Pakistan; grievances over resource sharingUnion Territory (post-2019 reorganization); less legislative autonomy but strong central funding
 
Bhaijaan said:
Actually, the Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir (UT) outperforms Balochistan (Pakistan) across key economic, social, political, and growth-outlook indicators. J&K actually is richer state than few other Indian states.


Indicator​

Balochistan (Pakistan)​

Jammu & Kashmir (India UT)​

Population (2023 est.)~15 million~13 million
Area (km²)~347,000~222,236
Per capita incomeBelow national average (far behind Pakistan average)~₹1,54,703 (~US$1,900) in 2024-25 with ~10% growth expected (labour.balochistan.gov.pk)
GDP / GSDP size & growthNo strong recent data; regional economy stagnant or weakGSDP ~₹2.6-2.8 trillion; real growth ~7.06 % in 2024-25; nominal ~11.1 % (jkplanning.gov.in)
Human Development Index (HDI)~0.444 (low) – worst provincial HDI in Pakistan (labour.balochistan.gov.pk)Higher than most Indian states (roughly medium-high, ~0.7+ by subnational estimates) (India Brand Equity Foundation)
Multidimensional povertyVery high (>70 %) in many districts; 17 of 20 poorest districts in Pakistan Estimated low (<5 %) and declining significantly (The Kashmir Horizon)
Literacy rate~42 % overall (very low) with female literacy even lower (Republic Policy)~68.7 % (much higher literacy) (India Brand Equity Foundation)
School infrastructureMany schools non-functional; ~1,700 non-functional; infrastructure poor (slguardian.org)Thousands of schools (e.g., hundreds in districts like Budgam) and expanding; education investment ongoing (Wikipedia)
Health infrastructureClinics scarce; reports indicate over 656 facilities partially operational; infant mortality high (~66/1,000) (slguardian.org)Multiple district hospitals, medical colleges (e.g., Government Medical College, Srinagar + associated hospitals), expanding tertiary care (Wikipedia)
Access to basic services (water, sanitation, electricity)Very poor: large share with no toilets, poor housing, water gaps Significantly better access overall with ongoing investment (no equivalent extreme deprivation data)
Tourism volume (recent)Limited due to security/infrastructure40 million tourists in ~2 years (~2023-25) (The Times of India)
Unemployment rateHigh, especially youth; many idle workersModerating; ~6.1 % in 2023-24 and falling (The Kashmir Horizon)
Level of autonomy (political)Provincial status within Pakistan; grievances over resource sharingUnion Territory (post-2019 reorganization); less legislative autonomy but strong central funding
Click to expand...
Damn, while I do regret the loss of human life, Balochs really are fighting for their survival. Imagine being 50 to 70 percent worse than the rest of Pakistan.

To understand how bad it is, Pakistan itself has catching up to do even with gobar states like UP and Bihar. Sad state man, didn't realise it was this bad for Balochs.
 
Balochistan is the Tibet of Pakistan. Too big. Too scant of people.

Pakistan is as close to losing Balochistan as China is to losing Tibet.
 
Savak said:
Glad to see an Indian this honest. On a serious note, apparently the Balochi people make 4% of the Pakistani population. But they share a lot with the rest of Pakistan i.e. the national language Urdu, love for the Pakistani Cricket team. Apparently what i have heard that there are a lot more Pathans than Balochis in Balochistan.

The region of Balochistan is very rich in natural resources, minerals and the Pakistani govt claims it is pressed for funds to do proper development projects over there
Click to expand...
The Indians trying very hard with the psy-ops and portraying Baluchistani residents as non-Pakistanis and as other people. 😂😂😂😂

Innocent Balochistan blood spilled recently by them needs to be accounted for..
 
BouncerGuy said:
You hold a referendum in Kashmir and give those people what they want.

HAIHIMMAT???
Click to expand...
Kashmir can't happen as the Muslim terrorists killed kashmiri pandits and changed demographics...it can happened after it is rectified now that 370 is revoked .
 
Looks like the genocide committed by Pakistan jehadi military has forced the brave women to take up arms..imagine. The atrocities committed by this barbaric country in balochistan. KP and Pok...all these people need to be liberated similar to how Bangladeshis were saved...Baloch to be independent kp back to Afghanistan and pok integrated with India.
 
Saw the video of Baloch woman holding guns and fighting. Quite surreal visuals i must say.

Pakistan regime will continue to call these people terrorists and deny them their rights and share of nation's wealth and development opportunities which deserve as much as people of Punjab and other favoured provinces.

The majority Pakistani Punjabi community will obviously maintain pin drop silence about this and maintain their absence from these threads where they hae no leg to stand on. They're only going to be flooding Epstein, WWE kinda threads that have nothing to do with subcontinental politics.
 
Ultimately you have to give people a reason to wish to remain part of the country.

Sometimes ethnic and religious differences are difficult to bridge. In the case of Balochistan they have historically been an underdeveloped and undereducated province.

What is the point in denying people their rights and making them resort to terrorism?

Hold a referendum wherever there is a dispute and end the madness of war and killing over some lines in the ground.

Let people live how they like, whether it is Balochistan, Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland or other disputed territories. Let their children grow up with hope rather than fear.

In some cases holding the referendum will actually blunt the seeds of independence as people will realise that their voices can be heard.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Ultimately you have to give people a reason to wish to remain part of the country.

Sometimes ethnic and religious differences are difficult to bridge. In the case of Balochistan they have historically been an underdeveloped and undereducated province.

What is the point in denying people their rights and making them resort to terrorism?

Hold a referendum wherever there is a dispute and end the madness of war and killing over some lines in the ground.

Let people live how they like, whether it is Balochistan, Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland or other disputed territories. Let their children grow up with hope rather than fear.

In some cases holding the referendum will actually blunt the seeds of independence as people will realise that their voices can be heard.
Click to expand...
Where do you stop though? Does Chembur (the suburb I grew up in Mumbai) get to hold a referendum? Does Lyari?

We could end up in a situation where tiny countries squabble and indulge in petty politics retarding human progress. Does South Sudan have a future? Does Montenegro? Especially in today's world where might is right, you could end up in utter chaos...countries getting exploited, swallowed up etc. Could landlocked Hyderabad state surrounded on all sides by India survived if not bullied by India into joining?
 
Red-Indian said:
Where do you stop though? Does Chembur (the suburb I grew up in Mumbai) get to hold a referendum? Does Lyari?

We could end up in a situation where tiny countries squabble and indulge in petty politics retarding human progress. Does South Sudan have a future? Does Montenegro? Especially in today's world where might is right, you could end up in utter chaos...countries getting exploited, swallowed up etc. Could landlocked Hyderabad state surrounded on all sides by India survived if not bullied by India into joining?
Click to expand...

Yes .. it's a real slippery slope if you allow referendum culture to spread around the world. The best you can do is to decentralise power as much to the states and run the country as a loose federation.

The only reason I bring up Balochistan is as a response to the years of threads on here about Kashmiri self-determination and how hilariously central it is to the Pakistani psyche. Otherwise I have zero interest in that issue. But @Cpt. Rishwat is convinced I am a patriot hardliner intent on breaking up Pakistan :ROFLMAO:
 
RexRex said:
Yes .. it's a real slippery slope if you allow referendum culture to spread around the world. The best you can do is to decentralise power as much to the states and run the country as a loose federation.

The only reason I bring up Balochistan is as a response to the years of threads on here about Kashmiri self-determination and how hilariously central it is to the Pakistani psyche. Otherwise I have zero interest in that issue. But @Cpt. Rishwat is convinced I am a patriot hardliner intent on breaking up Pakistan :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
At this point, I feel like 90% of non-rabid Pakistanis have given up on Kashmir as a part of Pakistan just like 90% of non-rabid Tibetans have given up on an independent Tibet and 90% of non-rabid Irish have given up on a united Catholic Ireland. After all, it's approaching 80 years.

The majority of folks only want to use it as sort of moral cudgel against India for it's excessive police/military presence there and sort of gloat that India's not been able to calm the place down after so long in control.

In that context I suppose, it's fair to call out Baluchistan as an example of Pakistani hypocrisy. In reality though, a referendum in either place is an impossibility for a long, long time. In a sense, the world should be grateful to Pakistan and it's series of military overlords for ruthlessly crushing and subduing Balochistan. As an independent nation, they could end up another tribal, backward Afghanistan...under Iranian influence and a hotbed of terrorism.
 
Red-Indian said:
Where do you stop though? Does Chembur (the suburb I grew up in Mumbai) get to hold a referendum? Does Lyari?

We could end up in a situation where tiny countries squabble and indulge in petty politics retarding human progress. Does South Sudan have a future? Does Montenegro? Especially in today's world where might is right, you could end up in utter chaos...countries getting exploited, swallowed up etc. Could landlocked Hyderabad state surrounded on all sides by India survived if not bullied by India into joining?
Click to expand...
It's a good point and there is of course a risk of slippery slope type situation.

But there are some very obvious places where it does make sense to have separate countries because of the very obvious ethnic and religious differences, or if there is some historic case for nationhood. If the majority population is undeniably commuting human rights abuses as is the case in IOK Kashmir, Kurdistan and probably Balochistan then is it really worth staying together?

If there is no benefit staying in a union people will naturally want to leave.

We had a referendum in Scotland on independence and the independence side lost and that pretty much took all the fizz and momentum out of it for a while, so much so that the nationalist parties took independence off their plans for the future because they knew they would lose again.

In Balochistan I think greater rights for their regional parliament followed up with a referendum for independence could kill things off too. For all Modi's attempts to bury Kashmir and pretend it's BAU we've recently had a major attack and people getting ready for others. It won't go away until people are given the right to self determination.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
It's a good point and there is of course a risk of slippery slope type situation.

But there are some very obvious places where it does make sense to have separate countries because of the very obvious ethnic and religious differences, or if there is some historic case for nationhood. If the majority population is undeniably commuting human rights abuses as is the case in IOK Kashmir, Kurdistan and probably Balochistan then is it really worth staying together?

If there is no benefit staying in a union people will naturally want to leave.

We had a referendum in Scotland on independence and the independence side lost and that pretty much took all the fizz and momentum out of it for a while, so much so that the nationalist parties took independence off their plans for the future because they knew they would lose again.

In Balochistan I think greater rights for their regional parliament followed up with a referendum for independence could kill things off too. For all Modi's attempts to bury Kashmir and pretend it's BAU we've recently had a major attack and people getting ready for others. It won't go away until people are given the right to self determination.
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Most of these issues never go away but simmer for a long long time. China's been pretending it's BAU in Tibet and Xinjiang. Britain's been pretending all the Irish troubles never happened. Spain says it has normalised the Basque situation. However, in all these cases, a simple incident could trigger old resentments again.

India's been clumsily (and sometimes very badly) doing it's best to bring Kashmir into the fold. Not my place to advise them and I know the Kashmiris would rather have self-determination but given the sheer impossibility of it, they would be much better off doing as some of the others have done - Tibet, Xinjiang, Ireland, Basque and accept their fate however resentfully. India's not the worst country to be a part off - it's still democratic and growing economically and they'd be among 200 million other Muslims. Bashing their heads bloody against a wall in hope endlessly does neither them nor India any good.

Maybe a time will come like it did in Scotland when India will feel secure enough to offer them a referendum.
 
RexRex said:
Yes .. it's a real slippery slope if you allow referendum culture to spread around the world. The best you can do is to decentralise power as much to the states and run the country as a loose federation.

The only reason I bring up Balochistan is as a response to the years of threads on here about Kashmiri self-determination and how hilariously central it is to the Pakistani psyche. Otherwise I have zero interest in that issue. But @Cpt. Rishwat is convinced I am a patriot hardliner intent on breaking up Pakistan :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...


Of course Kashmir and Balochistan are central to Pakistani psyche. otherwise what was the point of Pakistan in the first place?
 
Red-Indian said:
At this point, I feel like 90% of non-rabid Pakistanis have given up on Kashmir as a part of Pakistan just like 90% of non-rabid Tibetans have given up on an independent Tibet and 90% of non-rabid Irish have given up on a united Catholic Ireland. After all, it's approaching 80 years.

The majority of folks only want to use it as sort of moral cudgel against India for it's excessive police/military presence there and sort of gloat that India's not been able to calm the place down after so long in control.

In that context I suppose, it's fair to call out Baluchistan as an example of Pakistani hypocrisy. In reality though, a referendum in either place is an impossibility for a long, long time. In a sense, the world should be grateful to Pakistan and it's series of military overlords for ruthlessly crushing and subduing Balochistan. As an independent nation, they could end up another tribal, backward Afghanistan...under Iranian influence and a hotbed of terrorism.
Click to expand...
Not all of these are similar comparison

I don't know much about the Irish cause .so I will not comment on this

Kashmir or India was a Hindu land..at time of partition it was part of India legally..some people wanted to be part of Pakistan but question of independent state is artificial. So this is a country to country territorial dispute . If they go to Paksitan..their economic situation will be awful as can be seen by conditions in POK. If they give up terrorism which they have to a great extent they can lead a life without any issues and enjoy all that India has to offer.

Tibet. Is a independent region occupied by China although some centuries back it was part of China. So there is a struggle for independence and I think is more similar to the Baloch struggle

Where as the Kashmir issue is similar to the Taliban Paksitan issue wrt durand line..more territorial s
 
Red-Indian said:
Most of these issues never go away but simmer for a long long time. China's been pretending it's BAU in Tibet and Xinjiang. Britain's been pretending all the Irish troubles never happened. Spain says it has normalised the Basque situation. However, in all these cases, a simple incident could trigger old resentments again.

India's been clumsily (and sometimes very badly) doing it's best to bring Kashmir into the fold. Not my place to advise them and I know the Kashmiris would rather have self-determination but given the sheer impossibility of it, they would be much better off doing as some of the others have done - Tibet, Xinjiang, Ireland, Basque and accept their fate however resentfully. India's not the worst country to be a part off - it's still democratic and growing economically and they'd be among 200 million other Muslims. Bashing their heads bloody against a wall in hope endlessly does neither them nor India any good.

Maybe a time will come like it did in Scotland when India will feel secure enough to offer them a referendum.
Click to expand...
Kashmir issue is different to these other disputes ( most similar to Ireland).

It is not a straightforward case for autonomy it is a territorial dispute between two countries too. It won't ever be solved through straight forward assimilation into India. There is not huge appetite amongst Kashmiris for it. They may make use of Indian system for education and betterment because they have no other choice but they will take that betterment and use it to fuel their quest to separate from India.

We won't ever have a scenario where the situation is normalised, and others in India can come and visit and frolick in the land they came and gave their blood for.

Irish solution was a wonderful one. Probably the only good thing Britain has done in recent times. I am hopeful we can have a similar situation in Kashmir, it may seem impossible but it is certainly more possible than the whole situation going away.
 
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