Education is the basic need of every citizen of Pakistan constitutionally. However, Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, suffers badly from educational facilities. The schools of Balochistan largely lack proper buildings, sanitary facilities, wall chalks are used instead of markers, and even water is an issue for a great many rural schools. More importantly, the rural students sit under the open sky to continue their education.
It is because the government pays less attention to the rural schools whereas the locals are poor who hardly get two times of food. On the other hand, they cannot send their children to the nearby cities for two reasons in particular: one, because they are poor. Second, they have no terms with the people of cities. Dishearteningly, in the villages, the students even do not get good teachers. Because most of the teachers are appointed politically who are uneducated and are ghosts. According to a report by Alif Ailan, more than 5000 teachers in Balochistan are ghosts. As they have strong bonds with the authorities, they are never fired.
Witnessing the sickening education system, the poor students get compelled to quit their education and work in their fields or become masons. To a great misfortune, most of the other schools do not have toilet facilities. A boy can manage to skip from lack of toilet facilities, but how about a girl? Where would she go in case of emergency? In fact, the government allocates funds for the schools, but they never reach to the right persons. Whereas, in reports, they are said to be spent on developing projects of schools, but nothing in practice. The concerned authorities have no visits to these schools, no one knows if the allocated funds are spent on schools or not. Besides this, most schools in Balochistan have no access to libraries. It results in wasting of time with unnecessary stuff for the students which they could properly utilize if there existed a library.
Although many schools get separate funds for building libraries on their premises, they are never built. Thus, I plea to the government of Balochistan to take serious actions against the corrupt system of education and standardize the quality of education by providing them with the required facilities. If the government fails to concentrate on education, soon we are going to witness an era of great concerns. The writer is a student at Atta Shad degree college Turbat. He writes articles, blogs, letters and references for different local, national and international outlets and newspapers. He can be reached
It is tragically true that some women in the world are left beyond education and are totally caged. But scientifically, women have a better mental ability to understand the taught things in institutions than men. But they have been ignored in one way or another in the whole world. Because gender discrimination is very common in this part of the world; men can wander anywhere while females are trapped; men can freely get education, but women have to fight with their families and convince them; men are asked for women’s decisions; etc.
Pakistan is a federation of four provinces, among them one is Balochistan, the richest province by natural resources, but it is hit dismally with 75 percent of children as out of school and women’s education does not get attention because all are, to a great extent, struggling for their fundamental rights. According to the report of UNICEF Pakistan, only 27 percent of Balochistan’s women go to schools. Women’s education in Balochistan is the worst in the whole world.
One wonders whether we are living in a country where laws have no validity. To prove their competence, the current government of Balochistan needs to step forward to curb the educational woes of women in Balochistan. It becomes an ultimate test as to how the government deals with women’s education in the region.
Disappointingly, most families in Balochistan are suffering from severe poverty. After working very hard, they rarely get food two times a day. In such circumstances, it becomes hard for families to hire transportation to send their children to schools and no educational institutions within the areas becomes the cause of making children drop out.
Further investigating about this bitter issue, I got to know about a village namely Khairabad where women’s education declines because of no institutions and poverty.
Khairabad, a very far-flung area, situated in the eastern part of Balochistan, has been deprived of education due to deterioration of educational and fundamental needs for females in particular. Khairabad has a very vast population of females. Unfortunately, a very small number of females are enrolled in educational situations while the majority of them had not been entertained to get education.
Sammi, a very desirous student resided in Khairabad, was very curious to continue her education after matriculation and was prepared to fulfil her future’s goals but all dreams went in vain when her parents did not afford to send her out of city so that she could continue her education. Hence, she gave up, being one of the victims.
Apart from lack of institutions within the area and poverty, another main reason which makes the girls drop out from education is early marriage. In Balochistan, six percent of girls aged 15 and 23 percent of women aged 20 are married, a ruining practice for hundreds of girls. According to a report, Makran has the highest number of early marriagea with 23 percent and Nasirabad carries 22 percent of early marriages making it second highest on the list. This calamity is yet to be prevented in the province which destroyed the educational life of Iqra, one of the victims of early marriage.
Iqra, a very hardworking and dedicated student to her study, was forcibly married by her parents. The early marriage ruined her dreams of getting higher education. Iqra is not the only unheard story, there are thousands of unheard stories who were forcefully married off in Balochistan.
Furthermore, long distance leads far from education. Rural areas of Balochistan are also facing similar problems. In most villages, a large number of women are not attending classes due to lack of schools for women. However, one can find schools but at long distances which make it tough for the women to attend them on a regular basis. According to Alif Ailaan’s report (2017), a primary school almost appears after every 30 km in Balochistan; a middle school after every 260 km and a high school after every 369 km.
Hoshab, a sub-Tehsil of District Kech, falls in eastern Makran, experiences the issue of long distances. In Hoshab, girls must cover the distance of 17 km to reach the school and continue their education. Residents lodged so many grumbles and grievances. To add more, no transportation in rural areas makes it tough for girls to cover a long distance to attend the classes regularly and it is also unsafe for girls to go by foot.
Additionally, in Dera Bugti and Panjgur districts of Balochistan, women are kept out of schools by religious extremists who completely forbid educating women. Institutions with co-education were even targeted and threatened to be closed completely and permanently. Even though a school van was burnt on its way to school, and then the extremists attacked the given school. After this incident, the school remained closed for a couple of years which resulted in the elimination of a teacher who was promoting women’s education in these regions and was even a little successful. When he was killed, his striving for promoting women’s education ended, and it returned to its old spot. Extremists do not allow women to get education, and the reason behind it is not distinguished yet.
One wonders whether we are living in a country where laws have no validity. To prove their competence, the current government of Balochistan needs to step forward to curb the educational woes of women in Balochistan. It becomes an ultimate test as to how the government in rule deals with women’s education in the region.
The innocent children in Balochistan are plagued by numerous woes that range from education, and health to labor, sexual assault, child marriage, and kidnapping. We can find several children who are working in the streets of Quetta, and they are called garbage collectors, carpenters, or working in automobile shops. One of the 11-year-old children who collected garbage in the street of Quetta mentioned that he was sexually abused when he went to homes for the collection of garbage. He is not the only child, thousands of such children are sexually abused in the province, but they fear sharing their stories. It seems that children in Balochistan does not have rights in any sector of Balochistan and people are living in pitiable conditions.
Undoubtedly, education leads toward development, but it is unfortunate that the Baloch children are deprived from their fundamental rights of education. Instead of going to school, they work in different places to survive. It is estimated that nearly 66 percent of Balochistan’s children do not attend school. It was estimated that there are around 7,000 schools across the province with just a single room and a single teacher. In rural areas even the condition is worst. On there some talented students have attained positions in matriculation exams, but they could not afford for higher education. In the name of education, every year millions of funds are totally being misused. Still our leaders are continuously saying that they are doing their level best to provide education to every children, but we have not seen any change in education sector.
Apart from this, when it comes to health sector, the province is showing a bleak picture on all levels. According to the Emergency Operation Center (ECO, only 16 percent of Balochistan’s children are fully immunized, but 84 percent are at risk of contracting any minor or fatal diseases. Unfortunately, in rural areas people are suffering from malnutrition and other fatal diseases which only result in death. The minor disease also affects the children and it becomes the cause of their death as they cannot afford to treat them in cities. The government official has estimated that though doctors are posted in various parts of the province, they have opened their own private clinics, and never perform their duties. Mostly the doctors in rural areas never attend their duty where small children are dying owing to unavailability of the health facilities.
We are aware that the people in Balochistan live in tribal society where children are forced to marry at early ages. The child marriage is totally affected the children, and this not only influence their education but also their mental state. These things are very common because there is lack of awareness among people and poverty. The parents force their children, whether boys or girls, to marry them before the age of 18 years. They fail to send their children to school that is one of the reasons that they marry their children at early ages. Child marriage totally damages the lives of children, but who is there to understand the pain of these children. Every year thousands of girl children die during their pregnancy. Though anti-child marriage law have been established in Sindh and Punjab, these laws are still pending in Balochistan and KP that is the reason that children are getting married early in these two provinces.
In spite of seeing the bad conditions of Balochistan’s children, the provincial government is not done any good work to protect the children’s rights in the province as well as to provide quality or free education to them. Due to the ignorance of the government, children’s woes are being compound everyday instead of dwindling.
It is the responsibility of the provincial government to have better come forth to resolve the woes of Balochistan’s children. Balochistan’s children should be ensured full safety and facilities. The facilities of education, healthcare and many more required by the small children should be given to them. If the government is successful in providing these basic facilities and protecting the children then the government will be successful to complete the woes of Balochistan’s children.
In Balochistan, women do not have rights of education, healthcare or any space in politicians, cultural, economic or social fields. Instead of that women are regularly facing discrimination, assault and murder in the name of honor killing. Due to this, Balochistan is the most backward province and is recorded top ranking in Pakistan in terms of maternal mortality, unemployment, female illiteracy and gender disparities. The conditions for women are getting more deteriorated in rural areas of Balochistan where the literacy rate of women is 2 percent which is too much less as compared to 26 percent for the province as a whole.
Instead of going backward, in the last few decades, the Makran division which consists of the Kech, Gwadar and Pangur districts where females’ literacy is growing high as compared to other cities of the province. The main reason for the growing female literacy rate is Co-educational private schools where females are getting equal rights. These institutions are working just for educating Baloch and they have successfully produced an educational class of women who today have established themselves as educators, politicians, doctors and other professions. Even the rural females are migrating into cities to get enrolled in private institutions to be a part of educational societies.
It is unfortunate that due to the threats of militant groups, the parents fear sending their children into schools. A national daily has reported that the dropout rate is an appalling 70 percent, in spite of having education schools and colleges in Makran. That is called the biggest reason for the lowest female literacy rate in Balochistan. Leaving the ignorance of education in the province, the women are continuously suffering from other threats and dying on a daily basis. This emphasizes that no one is interested in supporting Baloch females.
In the last decade, honor killing has become very common in Balochistan. The women are being killed by their father, brother or other relative members without any reason. The first case of honor killing in Balochistan was reported during 2008, when three teenage girls were buried alive by their brother. According to Aurat Foundation (AF), a non-governmental organization working for women’s rights, hundreds of cases of violence against women are reported in various areas of Balochistan. The recent report estimates that around 187 cases of violence against women were recorded in 2014 compared with 151 cases in 2013. From these whole cases 75 cases of honor killing were reported in 2014.
Instead of growing the cases of violence against women, these cases are not being reported nor investigated. When the women journalists tried to report such cases for the protection of females, they themselves had suffered from threats and could not protect themselves. In rural areas, there is a lack of awareness among people and poverty is extremely high. Leaving Quetta, it is very common for women to die during the pregnancy. Every year, around 785 deaths for every 100,000 are recorded as compared to 272 in the rest of the country.
Another rising and alarming problem of women is acid attacks. Acid attack was practiced in 2010 when two sisters from Dalbandin were attacked by acid. Since that number of acid attacks cases have increased rapidly in Balochistan including men on motorcycles throwing acid attacks on women and then fleeing. Last year was considered the worst year when around 20 women suffered from acid attacks. Since 2010, several females have suffered from acid attacks and some women could not save their lives and some are still suffering from burnt faces.
The low literacy rate, honor killing, acid attacks and maternal mortality have totally changed the women’s lives into darkness. Still the condition is getting worse and worse day by day. The current Chief Minister of Balochistan should do significant work for the protection of women. The women should ensure full rights and should not suffer from any problem. They should have freedom to live their own lives in their own ways.
It has been a long time that Balochistan is suffering from food insecurity problem. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) provided data which estimates that 30 out of 32 districts of the province are food insecure which has been an alarming issue. Shockingly, only two districts including Quetta and Jaffarabad have food security in the entire province. Most of the districts are dependent on agriculture and it is the only source for the food, but this sector is completely destroyed due to shortage of water.
According to the experts, over 80 percent of the agriculture is dependent on rain fed, but there has been less rain in the last few years as it is required. The other problem is that there is a lack of dam and rain water is completely being wasted just due to bad management. In only Khuzdar district 350,000 cusecs of water are dumped through rivers in Arabian Sea. In recent years, not a single large dam has been built in Balochistan to save the rain water for agriculture due to which the water table is falling sharply. The agricultural land is dependent on water supplied by the tube wells which requires electricity. But the rural areas of the province just get 5 to 6 hours of electricity in a day, so how can they maintain the agricultural land? This is the only reason that the problem of food insecurity is increasing rapidly in the province.
The drought is affecting the people and the livestock. The most dangerous drought in Balochistan occurred during the period of 1997 to 2005. This killed over 1.76 million cattle and an area of 0.798 million hectares were wasted which became the loss of 25 billion. The problem can be more dangerous as the effect of drought can be much greater due to the increasing population and lack of attention from the government.
Government is also responsible for food insecurity then why the government is silent and not paying any attention to resolve this ongoing problem. The former Chief MInister of Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik declared a package of 1 billion to be utilized for the drought victims. But since then not a single rupee has been spent on them. These things raised questions, where are these funds going? Why are these funds not being given to the poor people? Till when they should suffer from these problems? Unless the government will not be serious about this alarming issue nothing can be done and the drought victim will never feel protection and they will continue to suffer from food insecurity.
DESCENDANTS Of The Sun is a 2016 south Korean television series that tells about the love story between a surgeon and a soldier. Descendants of the sun refers to the reference of the sun that shines to warm others and provides ease and robustness to them. Similarly, the south Korean series represents the sacrifices, bravery and their life long service of soldiers and doctors for their country and people within 16 episodes.
The series mainly revolved around the life of doctors and soldiers who left behind their personal life for others’ safety. The main roles were authentically played by ‘Song Joong Ki,’ as captain ‘Yoo Shii Jin’, ‘Sang Hye Kyo’ as doctor ‘Kang Mo Yeon’. Another bravely solder ‘Jim Hoo’ as ‘Seo Dae young’ and an army doctor ‘Kim Jo Won’ as ‘Yoon Myeong Joo,’ with plenty of other roles played by well-talented Korean actors that made the series both heart-wrenching and hilarious at the same time.
This series is based on a secluded lifestyle of a doctor who spent most of her time in a surgery room than with her family. The drama is about a soldier who continued risking his life for promoting peace, happiness and prosperity in his country, just like the descendance of the sun that is genuinely sparkling for others. The drama even gets more exciting when both doctors and soldiers work together to protect people.
The most enthralling part of the series was the unity of the soldiers and doctors to defend the hostages and the victims of a deadly earthquake. One after the other deadly disasters approached, testing the bravery and patience of them but yet they fought with enthusiasm and rescued most of the people except few.
When the wrecks of the earthquake almost finished, a virus impacted most of the patients, doctors and soldiers but there was another successful triumph of the struggle of the unity which dwindled the cases from surging.
The main theme of drama was that no matter how worse the situations gets, doctors and soldiers are never off to their duties, they will always give first priority to their patients and people as per the oath they take before initiating their new journey. Therefore, a doctor will treat his patients, no matter how sick he is and the soldiers will go to war, no matter how sick they are, just to protect the people always pleases them.
I was more concerned to know how a doctor and a soldier will live a thrilling life together despite serving in the most prestigious and gruelling jobs. Each time when they had time to catch up, they were compelled to head off towards their duties. This hit them hard sometimes as they thought it would not be possible for them to be together in future. But as it says, ” Where there is a will there is a way.” They were always struggling together to be honest with themselves and their jobs, that’s why, they always supported each other in their jobs.
Their support and affection for each other helped their love sparkle in earthquakes, wars and in a phase of a deadly virus. These 16 episodes covered up realities that soldiers and doctors faced. How they do not get beautiful moments with family while fulfilling oath and promises. Both doctors and soldiers are serving till their death unlike other professions, as other professions have a time limit but when it is on health and life, it is always being conscious and struggling to live healthy and working all day. We must respect the professions people have which are served for our safety.
Furthermore, I enjoyed this series, but for me the most miserable time to watch this series was in the last two episodes where I almost could not accumulate the guts to bear the truth about how a soldier’s life actually ends. But fortunately, everything got settled with the surgeon and the soldier became together again. The soldiers survived in those deadly situations where they were almost killed. It is a fact that soldiers are trained to kill and to get protected from dying, because they live to let others live peacefully.
The drama is mainly based on the reality, reality of every doctor and soldier belonging to every country. Each country has been shielded behind the sacrifices that most soldiers gave on their way to duty. It is about doctors who are honest with their duties and when unfortunately they end in smoke to protect their patients, they become fragile and continue sobbing. Therefore, we must appreciate their daily life struggle and should be thankful for a life they are living for our prosperity.
ONCEupon a time, in a quaint village nestled among lush green fields, where the warm golden sun painted the skies each day, lived a girl named Dora. The village, though rich in traditions and culture, was shrouded in poverty, and the laughter of education had yet to grace its streets. Dora, a captivating and inquisitive soul, possessed eyes that sparkled like stars in the night and a heart that overflowed with compassion for her fellow villagers.
One night, as the crescent moon whispered its lullabies, Dora drifted into a deep slumber and found herself enveloped in a vivid dream. In her dream, she envisioned a magnificent school standing tall in the heart of the village, where the curious minds of the villagers gathered to learn and grow. The dream felt so real, as if she could smell the fragrance of freshly bound books and hear the laughter of children echoing through the classrooms.
The following morning, unable to contain her excitement, Dora rushed to share her dream with her parents during breakfast. Her father, a kind-hearted man with weathered hands from toiling in the fields, listened attentively and gently advised, “My dear daughter, education may not be within our reach, but your dreams are precious. Cherish them, even if they seem distant.”
Yet, Dora’s spirit was not dampened. She carried her dream like a delicate blossom, nurturing it day and night, pondering how she could make it bloom. One serene evening, as the sun painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, Dora passed by a small shop in the village. A crackling radio inside was broadcasting the vibrant tales of a bustling city nearby, where knowledge thrived like a blossoming garden. The city seemed to hold the key to fulfilling her dream.
Determined and resolute, she decided to embark on a journey to the city, where she believed her dreams could take flight. However, her heart sank at the thought of her parents’ disapproval. Yet, she couldn’t quell the longing within her soul. The next morning, with a heavy heart, Dora left her home and found solace beneath the shade of a majestic tree by the roadside. The leaves rustled in the gentle breeze, and she felt a sense of longing as she gazed at the winding path ahead.
It was then that a kind stranger named Sheva, with a smile that warmed the depths of her heart, noticed the sadness in her eyes. Intrigued, he approached her and inquired, “Why are you sad, dear girl? What is your name?” Her voice trembled slightly as she replied, “I am Dora. And who might you be?” “I am Sheva, from the city,” he responded with a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.
As Dora poured her heart out to Sheva, she felt a connection that seemed to transcend the barriers of their world. Sheva, captivated by her dream and determination, offered his hand in support. “I will help you, dear Dora. Every weekend, I will bring books from the city, and together, we shall ignite the spark of knowledge within you,” he promised.
With renewed hope and a newfound friend by her side, Dora’s sadness began to melt away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Sheva became her guiding light, leading her through the vast realm of knowledge and unlocking doors to a world she had only dreamed of.
Years passed, and Dora transformed into an educated and empowered young woman. With Sheva’s unwavering support, she returned to her village, determined to bring her dream to life. Together, they established a vibrant primary school at the heart of the village, where laughter and learning danced hand in hand.
As news of the school spread like wildfire, the villagers flocked to its doors, hungry for the knowledge they had long yearned for. Dora’s eyes shimmered with pride and joy as she witnessed her dream take root, blossoming into a reality beyond her wildest imagination.
Standing before her parents with tears of triumph glistening in her eyes, she declared, “Nothing is impossible when you embrace your dreams with unwavering determination. Today, with the help of a kind soul like Sheva, my dream has become a beacon of hope and knowledge for our village.”
At that moment, surrounded by the love and support of her fellow villagers, Dora realized that dreams, like seeds sown with love, had the power to transform even the most barren lands into flourishing gardens of wisdom and joy. And so, the tale of Dora and her dream became a timeless legend, inspiring generations to come to reach for the stars, guided by the light of their dreams.
BALOCHISTANhas been suffering from the education crisis for decades even in modern times. Parents in Balochistan give up their own food and drink in this era of back-breaking inflation and send their children to get higher education in Punjab and other provinces and prepare for competitive exams like CSS and PCS so that they can improve their future through education. Balochistan, especially Gwadar, is already backward due to the dearth of educational institutions.
Recently, a bill passed by the national assembly to establish Pak-China Gwadar university in Lahore has spread fury among the students of Gwadar and even the entire Balochistan.
How would such an unjust and discriminatory bill be passed by the National Assembly, which also bears the endorsement of members hailing from Balochistan?
Balochistan should have been the foremost priority while considering erecting this project. Being a backward province in every dimension, Baloch people are entitled to have each amenity, specifically education whereby they could nullify the stereotypes wrongly associated with them.
At first the business or job opportunities are too less which might have enabled parents out there to recruit their progenies in modern school or colleges, secondly, due to the unrested and turbulent nature, barely it experiences the inflow of foreign investment therefore they have comparatively less than a quarter of educational institutions to Lahore, not to mention the whole Punjab.
To wind up, students belonging to backward regions are, either, compelled to travel dozens of miles or arrange accommodations from nearby universities. If this move is justified on the ground of rule of business, it could have been named a bit differently however yet again the state is hurting Baloch people. Akin state of scarcity and manual discrimination causes the arousal of rebellious or segregated movements and inferiority complexes.
Drops Akin to the Graceful Descent of Autumnal Foliage is a book of a famous author Umer Usman, who writes the book in simple and understandable language so that it spikes the interest of reading. The book was published in 2022.
This book is the love story of two innocent persons who had been demarcated due to the unbearable condition of the society. Saeed was the hero of Nazul and they planned a marriage after the completion of Saeed’s education. However, Saeed went to Quetta and told Nazul to wait for him but in every story, there comes a villain; Mukhtiar was the cousin who loved Nazul, he had declared that he was going to marry her if not then he would leave all and go to a foreign country and never come back.
Females in various countries confront inequalities, and take stress because of not being valued. Nazul was helpless, she could not speak up. When Saeed got aware of these all, he got mentally disturbed and became insane.
Additionally, his friend Shareef went to bring him back to the town, so he was convinced to return. On the journey, he slept: he dreamt that Nazul was being departed from him, at the same time a policeman tried to awaken him. Unfortunately, he punched the police man which triggered him in prison. Nazul got married but Mukhtiar had never forced her so she started loving him because she knew she had to spend her entire life with him.
Her husband went back to foreign country to his job and she was pregnant. While giving birth to a baby, Mukhtiar could not pause himself so he booked the ticket and came back, from Karachi, he sat in the bus and met with an accident and died. His child was unnamed, Nazul called him Azar, unwillingly his name became Azar. Saeed was released and came back. Mahdum ( the friend of Nazul) Shareef (friend of Saeed) wanted to make them together again to complete their past love story. Shareef convinced Saeed but Nazul did not accept because of society’s negative thoughts, she would bear the blame of people so Saeed accepted her word and stayed away from his love.
The book teaches the real meaning of love, expresses the society and environment of background people. It really deserves to be read once.
Gwadar’s fisherfolk under CPEC The China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) is considered a game changer for the region. Originally the project was valued at USD 46 billion, however, the project is estimated at USD 62 billion today.
The Port under construction at Gwadar is owned by the Pakistan government’s Gwadar Port Authority and operated by state-run Chinese firm China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) which will run it for 40 years.
Gwadar is a gateway to the oil rich middle east, central and South Asia. However, for the local residents Gwadar is the spot where they can fish all year around. It is a fact that the majority of local people’s livelihoods depend on fishing from which they feed their children. The government has made promises to provide all basic facilities to local people through this massive project which includes hospitals, schools, roads and industries will be established for the progress and prosperity of people. But at the moment the city is situated in one of Pakistan’s poorest provinces, Balochistan doesn’t even have basic services. The healthcare system is rudimentary and for women it is almost non-existent. For childbirth complications women have to be taken all the way to Turbat or even Karachi, nearly 500km away.
On the other hand, the voices of the indigenous fisherfolk of Gwadar who make up 80% of the district’s 185000 inhabitants have been snuffed out. While in their own country, own town and own land, they are being welcomed as outsiders by someone who is in reality an outsider.
According to a Chinese company spokesperson, the fisherfolk’s livelihoods will not be affected and that once the factories are set up then there would be no dearth of work. They all will be absorbed in activities related to their own occupation be it fishing process or value addition. And those who want to persist with fishing will be provided with technology, nets, boats and engines for them to go out into the sea.
According to the COPHC deputy manager in the planning and development section, “There is speculation that in 20 years there will be two million people employed in Gwadar, both from Gwadar and other parts of Pakistan including 20,000 Chinese. They will buy fish from the fisherfolk at market rates and eliminate the middlemen so they make maximum profits.” But the local fisherfolk do not feel reassured. With more and more skilled workers making their way to Gwadar, locals with fewer skills and no education are likely to be left behind. The fear among the local people is palpable. Because they do not know anything other than fishing.
The Chinese plan for CPEC, seems to validate this type of thinking in which locals are not part of the input, how CPEC will be developed? Gwadar is no longer sleepy, but it isn’t fully awake either. Training and developing skills of local people must be the first priority of CPEC authority before implementing the project.
Daily Makran Times 