Only 64 Percent Area Of Baluchistan Electrified Till Date
The richest and politically-dominated Punjab province is often accused of allocating the highest and unfair amount of resources including river water to it while leaving other provinces dry, reported IFFRAS.
So no wonder, people of Baluchistan which was forcibly amalgamated within Pakistan in mid 1950s are Chaffing at the bit. They accuse Pakistan Government of looting the resources of Baluchistan and having sold it to the Chinese. The Baluchistan Liberation Force has taken up arms to fight for freedom and throw out the invaders.
A document presented recently in the National Assembly of Pakistan showed that only 36 per cent of Baluchistan is electrified while the remaining 64 per cent of the region is permanently in black.
According to the year-wise breakup, the former government in Pakistan had electrified 2,459 small villages in 2017-18, which was a great number as compared to the areas electrified by the Pakistan Tareek-e-Insaf in the further years, reported The Nation.
“How can we imagine that Baluchistan has only 36 per cent electricity facility in 2021, as rest of the 64 per cent is in dark,” said Baluchistan MNA while talking to The Nation.
The Imran Khan-led government have electrified just 1,064 in 2018-19, 819 in 2019-20 and 1,023 in 2020-21.
The country’s Ministry of Power Division has also accepted the fact that most of the areas of Baluchistan have no facility for electricity.
“There are many factors that play a vital role regarding the provision of electricity to the residents of Baluchistan including the scattered population in 53 per cent area,” the Ministry justified as reported by The Nation.
Meanwhile, talking to The Nation, MNA from Baluchistan had also expressed that there were no concrete measures taken by the government to remove the deprivation of Baluchistan.
Apart from electricity, water availability has also become a major problem in Baluchistan. Farmers in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces have started blocking major highways to demand the release of their share of water from the Indus River.
