Quetta, April 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) Officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA) have stated that Pakistan's Balochistan province was given only Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 20 million from the national annual revenue pool of PKR 130 billion despite the province having over 4,000 kilometres of national highways, local media reported.
NHA officials made the statement during an interactive session with office-bearers and members of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where National Highway Authority General Manager Agha Inayatullah and Director Maintenance Raheel Ahmed Baloch informed participants on revenue, maintenance, and development initiatives, Pakistan-based Daily Independent reported.
They mentioned that approximately PKR 15 billion is needed annually for maintaining highways in Balochistan, a cost currently being met through revenue generated from other provinces. The NHA officials stressed that the support from the local business community is crucial for improving revenue generation and road infrastructure, stressing that nearly 95 per cent of business activity in Balochistan depends on highways managed by the authority, Daily Independent reported.
During the event, representatives of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce welcomed the NHA's development initiatives. However, they voiced concern over the dismantling of already operational roads, stating that such practices put additional burden on the people due to the geographical challenges of Balochistan. They demanded the timely completion of delayed projects and expressed concerns about road safety and the quality of infrastructure.
Earlier in March, a report claimed that the pattern of resource extraction from Pakistan's Balochistan without meaningful participation of local residents will continue to fuel resentment, militancy, and human rights crisis. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province by area and holds a disproportionate share of Pakistan’s minerals, energy reserves, and strategic coastal infrastructure. However, the local residents of Balochistan have not been included in decision‑making, benefits, and basic development.
"In recent years, the expansion of extractive projects, security‑driven mega‑infrastructure schemes, and a heavy‑handed state response to dissent have intensified grievances over land, livelihoods, and political autonomy, pushing questions of indigenous rights to the centre of Balochistan’s crisis," a report in the European Times detailed.
Balochistan possesses roughly half of Pakistan’s discovered mineral wealth, with more than 50 minerals identified and around 39 actively exploited under more than 1,600 licences. Balochistan hosts about 90 per cent of Pakistan’s copper reserves, substantial gold, sizable coal deposits, chromite, barite, marble, and other industrial minerals.
Despite having resources, the people of Balochistan remain among the poorest in Pakistan. The Baloch Board of Investment and Trade stated that Balochistan produces key minerals like coal, copper, and lead‑zinc barite; however, revenue and employment from these sectors largely flow to federal structures and private or foreign companies instead of local residents.
International and local human rights groups have repeatedly said that major projects, including the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and port‑city development in Gwadar, focus on national and foreign strategic interests over the consent of local residents and equitable benefit‑sharing.
"The connection between resource exploitation and indigenous rights is visible in Gwadar. The port city, heavily promoted as a CPEC flagship, lacks basic services such as clean drinking water and reliable electricity despite hosting multi‑billion‑dollar infrastructure. Local fishermen, who have relied on the sea for generations, report harassment, restrictions on access to traditional fishing grounds, and loss of livelihoods as commercial and security‑related projects expand. Simultaneously, Baloch activists and civil society documentation highlight that jobs and contracts around Gwadar and other CPEC corridors are often awarded to non‑Baloch workers and firms, reinforcing perceptions of economic exclusion and extraction," the report in European Times stated.
Source: IANS
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