Re: Poverty in Pakistan: A breakdown
I don't get the talk on Balochistan at all. Are Balochis supposed to be Pakistani or not? If yes, then what's in Balochistan belongs to Pakistan, and the central government redistributes the wealth to the places it needs it. If no, then why are Balochis voting for Musharraf's party in the elections? Simply, Balochistan has gas and probably oil, good mineral resources. Does Balochistan need all the gas, no, do the other provinces, yes, so they redistribute the resource. Does Balochistan get what it needs in return, yes it does since it only has about 6 million people, and the other provinces have many more times as many people. So per capita, how less well off are Balochis compared to the rest of Pakistan? probably not much worse off. All this talk of the Paki government not doing enough is again a silly argument when it was the Sardars, like Bugti, that tried to halt development of the area by making the region unsafe to invest in. Development per capita now in Balochistan is probably one of the highest in Pakistan. Doesn't Karachi itself have more people than Balochistan? Balochistan I'm sure gets more economic and political influence than Karachi from the government does it not?