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Balochistan's, Socioeconomic Development | Updates & Discussions.

Balochistan is a gold mine for Pakistan, our past leaders and politicians were fools to ignore this province. Developing Pasni, Jiwani as tourist attractions like Dubai, and Gwadar and Ormara as ports and industrial areas will surely help boost Pakistan's economy


I 200% agree with you. Baluchistan is going to make the entire Pakistan shine on the global map. This will turn into a mini Dubai within the next ten - fifteen years. Why do you think there is SO MUCH focus by India to not let Baluchistan develop? This is the biggest opportunity for Pakistan to make its future right and bright. And to write its own check towards economic progression!

What happens to dam after the date expires in 97 years?

Nothing, you continue to strengthen the banks, clean up the basin of the dam as it would have accumulations of mud, which will seriously impact its ability to store water at the levels it did during the first 20 years. The idea is to keep extending these dams in phases. You've got the initial infrastructure setup, adding more phases will expand the dam, its irrigation and water storage abilities. Eventually, all these dams can turn into Hydro power producers as you just need to put in tunnels and a ring canal to circulate the water ingress and egress of the electricity generating turbines. Not bad, if you produce 50 MW from each of these dams (which is very do-able at this size, you could even get to 100 MW, but lets take 50 MW for example), that's 50* 100 = 5000 extra electricity (Hydro based). This is pretty much the current gap in Pakistan's electric production vs. consumption. These dams on their own, without other projects, can reduce that gap and with little up front investment compared to building much larger dams (although Pakistan needs much larger dams too and very critically for the future expansion of the electric infrastructure based on Hydro electricity and associated increase in demand, plus need to store a LOT of water to reduce flood impact through large dams).
 
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Yeah Balochistan , a golden Bird , If we started work on Balochistan Pakistan's economy will be at top , People from all over the world will come to Pakistan for Job and Business purposes .. May Allah give guts , Brain And Honesty to our Corrupted politics. Ameen
 
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Balochistan to get Rescue 1122 in budget 2015-16


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QUETTA – The annual budget for Financial Year 2015-16 of Balochistan envisages six project to be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 2564 million including Rescue 1122 with an estimated cost of Rs 241.543 million besides five other projects.


A sum of Rs 45 million have been allocated for the Rescuee 1122 project in new FY 2015-16 The other projects include Gwadar Lasbella Livelihood Support Project, Refugee Affected/Hosting Area Project, Strengthening of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA-Balochistan), Balochistan Economic Development Project and Balochistan Community Development Project (BCDP).


The BCDP has a component of Rs 50 million by the Balochistan government and Rs 800 million in the form of foreign funding.
 
Balochistan the largest geographical part of Pakistan need more attention of Govt. of Pakistan.
 
COAS Raheel Sharif inspects progress on CPEC in Balochistan
July 25, 2015
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RAWALPINDI (Web Desk) – Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Saturday visited Panjgur and Turbat areas of Balochistan and inspected the under-construction road network as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Inter Services Public Relations said.

On his official twitter account, DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa said the COAS was apprised by FWO that as many as 11 of its units have been employed in Balochistan for construction of 870km long stretch of roads at five different locations simultaneously, out of which 502km of roads have already been completed in less than one and half year.
COAS Raheel Sharif inspects progress on CPEC in Balochistan - Daily Pakistan Global
 
The travails of Gwadar’s fishermen
Situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea, the three-berth deep sea port of Gwadar looks mostly deserted. A small distance away from the empty port, several fishermen are going about their business, their boats tied to the harbour which has been merged with the port.

“As you know, we (the fishermen) are [among the] oldest residents of Gwadar; we are the real people of the port town. But despite that, we have been abandoned,” says elderly Khuda Rahim Mallag, who has been fishing in these waters since he was a teenager.

Sitting in the midst of around two dozen fishermen in the Komari Ward of Mulla Band, Mallag, now in his eighties, explains: “For over the last few decades, we have been explaining our interminable woes to the fisheries department and the district commissioners of Gwadar, particularly regarding illegal trawling in the waters of Gwadar that has dwindled [the supply of] fish. But we have not heard back from them.”

It is said that Mulla Band is where the people of Gwadar first lived in and later the town expanded from there.

This area, which now houses three berths of the port, was central to local fishing activity in Gwadar, perhaps because it was also the best breeding point for fish. This changed in the early 2000s when the fishermen of Gwadar were moved to another location to make room for the deep sea port.

“We knew we would be displaced (from Mulla Band) during former president retired General Pervez Musharraf’s rule...and we know we will also be displaced from here (Komari Ward) one day. Because it is true that we do not feature in the country’s logic of development in general and Gwadar in particular,” says Nakhuda (boat captain) Dad Karim Baloch.

Today, the fishermen fear that their displacement from Mulla Band would, in tragic irony, be followed by a slow and gradual displacement of the entire population of Gwadar port town. Because neither the fishermen, nor the people of Gwadar have been able to situate themselves in the country’s race for development, they lament.

“Undoubtedly, the real and genuine ownership of Gwadar lies with the fishermen who have lived here since time immemorial,” says KB Firaq, a Gwadar-based Baloch social activist.

After being removed from Mulla Band, the fishermen were relocated on the other side of the port town in a locality they named New Mulla Band.

“When they (the fishermen) were moved to New Mulla Band, there were, and still are, no facilities available to them — schools, electricity, water, jobs, or colleges. When you displace a population, you have to first provide them an alternative,” Firaq adds. To this day, a large segment of the population in New Mulla Band is jobless.

But the officials running the town’s government argue that the fishermen had been paid handsomely for their homes in Mulla Band. Furthermore, they were resettled in the port city. The fishermen had sold them their plots of land of their own free will and no one had forced them, they stress.

However, Firaq sheds light on the darker aspect of that deal. Most of the fishermen are illiterate and it was obvious that there was no point in resisting the government at the time they were being resettled in New Mulla Band, he says.

“Yes, they were paid, and some of them thought that they would live a good life with that money...but once they settled in New Mulla Band, their woes compounded.”

He explains that the fisher folk of Gwadar have their distinct culture and way of rationalising things. They prefer a leisurely life and tend to do things in a collective fashion. Once they left their homes in Mulla Band, many fishermen were reluctant to fish elsewhere.

“That is why they now live hand to mouth in the New Mulla Band area, where they were resettled a long ago,” Firaq says.

One of the most adverse fallouts of development in the area was the rise in illegal trawling of fish — a trend which has badly affected the local fishing business.

“It is true and unfortunate that local fishermen are left at the mercy of hundreds of national and international illegal trawlers operating in the waters of Gwadar. Even the fisheries department is complicit in this,” Firaq alleges.

There was an incident, a while back, from the Pasni tehsil of Gwadar, in which local fishermen had managed to catch two trawlers after engaging in a lengthy fight. Firaq recalls, “Yes. They were caught and handed over to the fisheries department by the local fishermen themselves. After that, the trawlers were set free...after being charged with minor offences.”

The fishermen share that sometimes they, too, are not allowed to take their boats out into the sea during official visits because of security issues. One of the fishermen recalls that he was fishing in the sea near the Ormara side when the Navy Force caught up with him and accused him of being a spy.

Because they are not yet officially recognised as labourers, the fisher folk are deprived of facilities such as social security, health, EOBI, etc. “I have 10 children. Most of them study in schools. To tell the truth, I cannot afford their expenses. I earn Rs1,000 a day when I go out to sea from dawn till dusk. With this amount, I am expected to run my family and buy petrol for my boat,” says Nakhuda Dad Karim Baloch angrily. “On the other hand, when anyone of us suffers from a disease, we have to sell our valuables to afford treatment.”

Dr Hafeez Jamali’s thesis titled, The Anxiety of Development: Megaproject and the Politics of Place in Gwadar, Pakistan, had led him to spend a lot of time with the fisher folk of Gwadar.

Speaking to Dawn, he says, “Deep-sea trawlers are supposed to fish in deep sea which is 12 miles away from the coast. But actually, what happens is that they consistently refuse to follow rules pertaining to fishing within the shore. In this way, they snatch the livelihood of local fishermen. Mostly, these are Karachi-based trawlers who, after encroaching on the Sindh coastline and destroying the fishery stock along the Sindh coastline, started doing same along Makran coastline since the 1990s.”

He cautions: “This is a direct threat to the livelihood of Gwadar’s fishermen...and thousands of families depending directly on fishing for livelihood along the Makran coast. Also, these trawlers are owned by influential, powerful people in Karachi.”

Jamali concludes, “As for the international trawlers, they present a different kind of threats because they are like small factories in the sea.” They are huge, and their capacity to catch, process fish is enormous.

“The Korean and Taiwanese trawlers are so massive that even if they did not approach the coastline, and fished outside the 12 mile zone, they pose a huge risk to our stock of fish.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1351634
 
Balochistan makes a pitch for foreign investment
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DAVOS:

The civil and military leaders from Balochistan have offered the global elites to invest in the deep seaport of Gwadar and mines and mineral sectors of the province which, they believe, has the potential to bring prosperity to the whole region.


Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal and Quetta Corps Commander Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on Wednesday highlighted the future economic prospects of the once insurgency-hit province at traditional Pakistan Dinner arranged by the Pathfinder Group on the sidelines of Annual World Economic Forum.

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The corps commander said the province offers unique economic opportunities. There is also unique collaboration between the civil and military leaderships to take Balochistan forward, he added.



Bajwa said Balochistan has remained victim of terrorism because of turbulence from across the border.

Pakistan ultimately realised that it has to manage its own borders and started constructing fence on border with Afghanistan. The border is becoming stable and Pakistan is constructing a five-kilometre-long fence every day to fully fence the border by end of this year.
“The incidence of terrorism in Balochistan has drastically reduced. The so-called insurgency has already died down and there are only few incidents that happened last year,” the corps commander added.



He said the much-needed political stability is also coming in Balochistan and there is the best political dispensation in Balochistan today. The security situation has improved and the province has got momentum for development.

“Start of CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor] in Balochistan has created huge economic opportunities through connectivity,” he said, adding that cope of CPEC is being widened and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman have already shown interest in the project.



“Saudi Arabia has shown interest to invest $10 billion. The jewel of the crown is Gwadar, which is offering huge opportunity to cut time and cost of logistics for international trade in this region. The potential of Balochistan is in mines and minerals and oil and gas,” said Lt Gen Bajwa.

He said since creation of Pakistan 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf) gas has been explored and the known potential in Balochistan is 28tcf. The Gwadar port and Gwadar free zone offer enormous investment opportunities for setting up light and heavy industries as well as in tourism

Balochistan CM said the province is abundant with natural resources and now it can bring prosperity to the region also. Balochistan offers opportunities to Afghanistan and Pakistan can have access to Europe.

He said CPEC corridor can really bring up new business ventures from growing China. Other countries are also showing interests in the project. Kamal assured that the foreign investors will be facilitated, and promised them good governance and transparent systems.

“Balochistan government will be accountable to its people,” he said. Kamal said Reko Diq is open for foreign investment. The 700 kilometers coastal line is also open for tourism and transshipment facilities.

He said both the federal and provincial governments have huge responsibilities to turn around Balochistan. The success of Pakistan’s economy depends very much on Balochistan and it is very important that both the governments come up with investment friendly opportunities for people

Defence analyst Ikram Sehgal said the political leadership, the military and the judiciary have to be on the same page for development of Pakistan. Balochistan Awami Party Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar said: “We are moving towards a new narrative of political development and economic opportunities.”

Source:https://tribune.com.pk/story/1895269/2-balochistan-makes-pitch-foreign-investment/
 
'PARCO to install largest oil refinery in Hub'
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Sunday said the Pak-Arab Oil Refinery Limited (PARCO) will install the biggest oil refinery in Hub, in addition to one by Saudi Arabia in Gwadar.

The announcement came during a visit to Karachi where the CM laid floral wreath at the Quaid’s mausoleum.

Talking to the media, the chief minister said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an economic game-changer for the country. It will bring job opportunities, prosperity and better life for Balochistan’s people, he added.

Investors from different countries have desired to join CPEC, said Kamal, adding that Rekodik and other development projects will be completed soon.
He said that a Saudi minister in his recent visit had expressed the desire to invest in the energy sector of his province. “The Pak-Arab Oil Refinery Limited will install the biggest oil refinery in Hub, in addition to one by Saudi Arabia in Gwadar,” said Kamal.
The chief minister said Balochistan has huge mineral and natural resources, which are the property of the people of the province.

About his government’s plans, Kamal said 16 to 18 trauma centres will be set up along the RCD Highway. Moreover, “We are upgrading all district headquarter hospitals. As many as 500 doctors will be appointed on a contract basis to provide health facilities in every part of the province.”

Moreover, the provincial government has formed a tourism development authority.

To a question, the CM said protesters had “called off the missing persons camp in Quetta for two months on the assurance of the provincial government”.

Kamal said the issue was being discussed with the prime minister and the federal government had assured him of resolving it soon.
He said the provincial government has been working for the betterment of the province and taking measures to resolve issues.

“The Senate chairman belongs to our [BAP] party. We are working in a good way with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government,” he said while replying to a question. He expressed the hope that all political parties will fully support Sadiq Sanjrani as Senate Chairman in the future too.

He also talked about terrorism in the Sindh-Balochistan border area. He said, “We have not held any meeting with the Sindh chief minister on the law and order situation but discussed it with Rangers officials.”

The CM said security would be increased in the border areas to purge out terrorists from there. “We will not compromise on our sovereignty,” said Kamal.

Meanwhile, talking to a private TV channel, the chief minister said proper utilisation of funds in last 15 years could have changed Balochistan’s plight but the politicians deliberately kept the province impoverished and backward during past 25 years.

Kamal said, “Many development projects were announced in last 25 years but they remained limited to paperwork. There were a number of projects which can be seen in documents but on ground there was nothing.”

He said that the previous governments should have focused on poverty that was a prime cause of the province’s backwardness. There were dozens of project which received funds under the Public Sector Development Programme without any construction work, he alleged.

The CM vowed to not spare the corrupt elements who had caused losses to the province.

To a query regarding rifts within the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in Balochistan back in 2016, he said, the PML-N hasn’t disappeared from the province but was stuck in internal rifts, which allowed political machination and the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) emerged as the leading political party in Balochistan.

“Due to the obstinacy of central leadership of PML-N many of its members in Balochistan turned dissidents because it gave major powers to the PkMAP and the NP in provincial affairs.”

He refuted political threats to the provincial government. Neither there were rifts in the coalition government in Balochistan nor any political threats were being faced, he added.

“BNP-M has formed an alliance with PTI at the Centre, while in Balochistan they have formed an alliance with JUI and are playing a responsible role in opposition,” Kamal said and expressed optimism for the completion of his government’s tenure.
The CM said that unfortunately some politicians in the province did politics with disgruntled Baloch people living on mountains. However, he said that due to positive policies of the incumbent government peace has been restored in the province.

Kamal said fencing was under way on the Pakistan-Afghan border to prevent terrorists’ movement.

Source:https://tribune.com.pk/story/1898223/1-parco-install-biggest-oil-refinery-hub-kamal/
 
NEED OF SECOND URBAN CENTRE :

While the city of TURBAT, being the second largest city of Balochistan and largest in Southern Balochistan, should be made a major urban centre in the Southern Balochistan with a FIVE YEAR MASTER PLAN. Despite several political criticism on the previous Government it should be appreciated that the previous PML-N Government established a University & Medical College in Turbat, while the road infrastructure of the has been dramatically improved.

In order to further develop TURBAT into a major urban centre, following steps needs to be taken :

1. APS&C Campus
2. Cadet College
3. CMH of B class
4. Five Vocational training centres
5. State of Art hospital of 500 bed
6. Broadband, 4G and transmission lines
7. Road carpeting inside city.
8. Connection of Turbat with Iranian city of "Iranshahr" with a high class 2-LANE highway till the border, so the locals can do trade and get betterment in their economic situation.
 
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