New Provinces old identities

From the word Baluchistan most of the people in Pakistan think that it is the land of the Baloch people, this thinking of the people is right in a sense that majority of the land of Baluchistan province is inhabited by Baloch people. But on the other hand many more nationalities too live in Baluchistan province. According to Population Welfare and Zakat Department, the Baluchistan province has an area of 347190 km with 6.51 Million populations. This population comprises of Baloch, Pukhtun, Hazara, Barahvi, and settlers. With respect to population Baloch and Pukhtuns are in majority and other nationalities in minority. The areas near to Iran, Gwadar and Sindh are mostly inhabited by different tribes of Baloch while on the other side the areas near Afghanistan, KhyberPukhtunkhwa and Punjab the Pukhtun tribes are in majority. With respect to districts we can say that out of 30 districts of Baluchistan 12 are Pukhtun dominated districts and in the rest of the district the Baloch have in majority.

During my three and half year stay in Baluchistan I came to know that the Pukhtun people living in Baluchistan also want their same identity as the people of NWFP got in the form of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.No one can deny the existence of a particular tribe on particular lands where they have been living for centuries that even the history is silent to speak about like in the case of the Pukhtun areas. The areas of the Baloch people are naturally specified and same is the case with the Pukhtun people there. But when we speak with respect to the geographical distribution of the provinces and think in term of provincial identity then this Pukhtun population has no representation whenever the Baluchistan province is coined anywhere.

The perception of a separate province among the Pukhtun population is rising with the passage of the time due to the ongoing conflict in the Baluchistan. The Baluch too want that the Pukhtuns should have any their own representation and geographical identity in the map of Pakistan and their presence in Baluchistan should not be treated as the part of the Baloch population.

If new provinces were formulated on the basis of nationalities like the demand of the Saraiki province then this Pukhtun population in Baluchistan will not be far behind in demanding their own province and in this case the ultimate trouble will be for the state of Pakistan. After this Pukhtun area being given a separate province, the Baloch will be more isolated in their demand of freedom because one of the reasons that have somehow kept this province united is the presence of different nations under one umbrella-Baluchistan.

The real thing is not the identity that people get in the form of names like the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa got now but it is the development that matters the most. The Baloch nation has its own identity of having a separate province that best reflects their identity but still they want freedom from Pakistan. If people have relied only on the names than the Baloch have never demanded anything. The Pukhtuns if demanding their own province in Baluchistan they must think that the name and new geographical positions are not going to give them any development and it’s not going to safeguard them from any exploitation and many more.