CSS Current Affairs | Socioeconomic Grievances of the Baloch People
The following question of CSS Current Affairs is solved by Saba Rasheed under the supervision of Howfiv’s Pakistan Affairs and Current Affairs Coaches. She learnt how to attempt 20 marks question and essay writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved past paper question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years, and uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Current situation of Baluchistan people
3-Socioeconomic grievances of the Baloch people
- ✓Limited access to the healthcare sector, education, and social services
- ✓Increasing poverty and exacerbating unemployment
- ✓Resources exploration grievances
- ✓Low level of investment in the industries sectors and infrastructure
- ✓Limited access to basic needs of life, like clean water, electricity, and road
- ✓Limited access to opportunities, employment, and government services as compared to other provinces
4-How can the government take some sensible steps to address these grievances of the Baloch people?
- ✓Fair and equal distribution of resources
- ✓To Improve infrastructure and develop industries
- ✓To Ensure equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and public services.
- ✓To Provide basic needs of life, like clean drinking water and electricity
5-Critical analysis
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Baluchistan is rich in natural resources and has a strategic location. Despite this, it has faced significant socioeconomic grievances compared to other provinces. According to the World Bank reports, Baluchistan has the weakest long-term growth performance compared to other provinces in Pakistan. Ironically, there is no denying that facts the Baloch people have not only confronted natural resources exploration grievances but also deprived of health, education, and basic needs of life, which added fuel to the fire in Baloch people. Moreover, increasing poverty and exacerbating unemployment have also worsened the situation; this is an issue but also an injustice that is happening to the people of Baluchistan. Despite the intensity of these grievances in the country, some sagacious measures may help reduce the grievances of Baloch people, such as improving infrastructure and developing industries, Ensuring equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and public services, and providing basic needs of life, like clean drinking water, and electricity. This question discusses what the main socioeconomic grievances of the Baloch people are and how the government can take sensible steps to address these grievances of the Baloch people.
Current situation of Baluchistan people
Currently, the situation of the Baluchistan people is very pathetic. According to the reports, 4.4 million people have been affected due to the ongoing drought in Baluchistan. Along with this, the Baloch people have no access to education, healthcare centres, and basic needs of life. They still need to clean their drinking water. According to the reports, 72 per cent of boys and 83 per cent of girls are deprived of basic education compared to other provinces. This is an injustice that the people of Baluchistan faced.
Socioeconomic grievances of the Baloch people
- ✓Limited access to the healthcare sector, education, and social services
Along with this, limited access to healthcare centres, education, and social services has caused significant grievances for the Baloch people. Compared to other provinces, the Baloch people’s participation in education is the lowest due to poverty. Moreover, most children are not going to school due to the lack of resources, as they do not have the basic needs of life. According to the Human Development Index reports, an estimated 2.7 million children are out of school in Baluchistan. Similarly, in Baluchistan, only 13674 schools have not provided proper education for children due to the lack of a technical and modern education system. Additionally, poor quality of education, lack of qualified teachers, and a dearth of educational resources have also created a miserable situation in Baluchistan. Along with this, the people of Baluchistan have limited access to healthcare centres. According to the reports, around 670,000 children under five years and 370000 pregnant and lactating women are in dire need of health services. The healthcare system of Baluchistan has faced many challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure, human resources, lack of essential medicines, low funding, and poor quality of care. Due to these challenges, numerous people have lost their lives due to the burden of diseases. This is an issue but also an injustice that is happening to the people of Baluchistan compared to other provinces.
- ✓Increasing poverty and exacerbating unemployment
Moreover, one of the main grievances the Baloch people have is increased poverty and exacerbated unemployment. According to the reports, More than 60% of people in Baluchistan live below the poverty line. These people have confronted poor socioeconomic indicators in the areas of health, education, drinking water, and unskilled labour, which are major reasons for rising poverty in this region and exacerbating the situation of the Baluchistan people. Along with this, the Baloch people have faced the highest unemployment rate in Pakistan due to the lack of education, poverty, discrimination, corruption, educational institutions, etc. According to the reports, it is estimated that about 9.13 per cent of people are unemployed in Baluchistan.
- ✓Resources exploration grievances
Additionally, resource exploration grievances have also worsened the situation in Baluchistan. Baluchistan is rich in resources like gas, coal, copper, gold, etc. Despite this, the Baloch people were deprived of the benefits of these resources. During this entire situation, the Baloch people were upset because the government took things from their land and got benefits from other provinces, ignoring the Baloch people not sharing fairly. According to the report, 40 per cent of electricity is produced in the Baloch region. Despite this, 64 per cent of people live without electricity. Similarly, Myriad institutions are working in Baluchistan extracting oil and gas reserves in the country. Unfortunately, the people of Baluchistan have been deprived of Sui gas services. This is an issue but also an injustice which is happening to the people of Baluchistan compared to other provinces.
- ✓Low level of investment in the industries sectors and infrastructure
Similarly, one of the main reasons is the low level of investment in the industries sectors and infrastructures compared to other provinces; this is also a grievance of the Baloch people. The government has not supported the industries sectors and has inadequate investment in its infrastructure, which hinders economic growth. It also creates unemployment and poverty in this region. This is an injustice that the people of Baluchistan face compared to other provinces.
- ✓Limited access to basic needs of life, like clean water, electricity, and road
Along with this, the main grievances of Baluchistan people are limited access to basic needs, like water, electricity, and roads. They even have no access to clean drinking water. According to the UNDP reports, in Baluchistan, only 21 per cent of people have access to supply lines of water, 23 per cent to hand pumps, and about 30 per cent have access to river water. Ironically, the major source of the Baluchistan people is the freshwater of rainfall. Similarly, Baluchistan has also faced an energy shortage, and an estimated 64 per cent of Baluchistan people live without electricity. Similarly, the rural areas of Baluchistan are receiving only 4 hours of power daily. Moreover, the Baloch people have also limited road access compared to other provinces. This is injustice and also an issue that faced the Baluchistan people.
- ✓Limited access to opportunities, employment, and government services as compared to other provinces
Last but not least, one of the main issues is limited access to opportunities, employment, and government services compared to other provinces. Baluchistan-educated youth have increased feelings of hopelessness and frustration; because the universities have no guarantee of securing a job, this situation affects their mental health. According to the Pakistan Labor Force Survey conducted in 2014, Baluchistan has the highest unemployment rate region in the country. Moreover, limited industry in the provinces has also created unemployment and poverty in Baluchistan. The government does not support the industries, has a low investment in infrastructures, and has limited access to government services compared to other provinces. This is an issue but also an injustice that is happening to the people of Baluchistan.
How can the government take sensible steps to address these grievances of the Baloch people?
Despite the intensity of these grievances in the country, some sagacious measures may help reduce the grievances of the Baloch people. First, the government should be fair and equal distribution of resources. So that the people of Baluchistan also gain benefits from their resources like gas, electricity, etc., the government should have an equal distribution of resources in all provinces. Second, the government should improve infrastructure and develop industries; it should create job opportunities and reduce the unemployment rate in Baluchistan. Moreover, skilled labour can not only increase the economic growth of the country but also improve the situation of the Baloch people.
Along with this, the government should ensure equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and public services for the Baloch people compared to other provinces. The government should better the situation of education and healthcare centres in terms of building new schools and the healthcare sector, providing technology and advanced education, and providing the facilities of healthcare sectors. Last but not least, the government should provide basic needs of life, like clean drinking water and electricity, to Baloch people compared to other provinces; so, it is high time the government takes steps to overcome the grievances of Baluchistan people.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Baluchistan is rich and abundant in resources and strategic location; despite this, the Baloch people have faced various socioeconomic grievances compared to other countries. Unfortunately, these grievances create issues between the government and Baloch people, such as Limiting access to the healthcare sector, education, and social services, Increasing poverty and exacerbating unemployment, Resources exploration grievances, and Limiting access to basic needs of life, like clean water, electricity, and road. Moreover, the government should resolve the conflict of Baluchistan grievances by taking sensible steps, such as improving infrastructure, developing industries and ensuring equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and public services. God forbid, if the required steps are not taken in time, this monster will engulf the peace and harmony of the country.
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