Opinion

Syed Ali Shah Thirty-year-old Tariq sits in an open space, almost oblivious to the cold night, as he grieves the loss of his mother after their house collapsed in the earthquake. His family huddles close to him. Some five kilometers away from Awaran, in need of immediate rehabilitation with a wailing infant in her arms, a frail 27-year-old, Zainab Bibi ...

By Shezad Baloch  In the aftermath of the Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Balochistan, head of the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said they are capable of coping with the situation in Balochistan. People in Balochistan have viewed this statement as a part of a continued policy of discrimination and injustices toward the least developed province. Interestingly, at the same time ...

 By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar THE wretched of the earth are given the name because their lot never seems to improve. So it is for the hapless communities of Awaran and Kech districts in southern Balochistan, whose already hard lives were devastated by a massive earthquake this past Tuesday. That nature chose to bare its most destructive face in the same ...

  By Urooj Raza In a federal system of government there is an intricate balance between a wish for national unity by the center and aspirations for autonomy by its federating units. In case of Pakistan, there has been a traditional proclivity for a stronger federal structure at the cost of provincial autonomy. Amongst its federating units, the province of ...

  By Qaisar Shehzad Farooq When war and propaganda combine at a time truth is the first sacrifice. The main objective of war propaganda is to fabricate an enemy in a terror context to convince the public that war is justified for humanitarian noble cause. In the morning of September 11 Bush administration declares that al-Qaeda attacked the World Trade ...

By Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur During the recent ‘missing persons’ hearing in Quetta the Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that there is no proper checking in the city. The check posts manned by the Frontier Corps (FC), customs and police are just an ‘eyewash’; ‘hogwash’ would be more appropriate, and smuggling continues as the ...

  By Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur Three weeks ago I received a mailed letter, which seemed odd as most communication these days takes place via the internet, the easiest though not the safest since Edward Snowden exposed the scope and depth of surveillance that the US National Security Agency (NSA) carries out. Mailed letters are not very private either. Muhammad Ali ...

  By Yousaf Ajab Baloch  Saindak cooper-gold mine is also included in the Baloch’s  mineral resources that mark Balochistan as a rich land. Despite existence of gold and copper with great amount and value, Baloch nation is unable to benefit from it as because Chinese exploitation of Baloch resources is continued with great assistance of state authorities and establishment. The ...

Sanaullah Baloch Natural resources account for a large share of Balochistan’s wealth. Since 1952, Pakistan has been extracting large quantities of gas and coal and, more recently, copper-gold from Balochistan. However, the bleak socio-economic indicators in the province clearly indicate massive corruption, mismanagement and abuse of Baloch natural wealth. Despite countless natural wealth, Balochistan stands out for its terrible social ...

   By Yousaf Ajab Baloch On Saturday, August 26, 2006, the assassination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the former governor of Balochistan and former federal minster, proved that the establishment had utilised his loyalty merely to plunder the Baloch resources. Though the murder of the 79-year-old Nawab Bugti was a great ‘victory’ for the establishment or General Pervez Musharraf, it ...