This comprehensive analysis reveals Balochistan’s profound paradox as a strategically vital but impoverished region marked by ongoing struggles symbolized by attacks on gas pipelines. Despite its vast landmass and abundant mineral resources, Balochistan remains Pakistan’s poorest province. Over the past six decades, promises of equitable resource allocation and development have largely gone unfulfilled. Baloch resistance, rooted in historical grievances and the state’s apathy, manifests in intermittent acts of defiance, often targeting gas pipelines. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) introduces further complexities, with concerns of resource exploitation and discrimination. Natural gas, constituting half of Pakistan’s energy consumption, is a vulnerable target. In this volatile environment, Balochistan’s people persist in their quest for justice and autonomy, shaping a complex narrative of hope and adversity.
The province of Balochistan is the largest among Pakistan’s provinces in terms of land area that constitutes nearly 43 percent of the nation’s total territory. Despite its vast expanse, Balochistan remains the poorest and least populated province in Pakistan. What sets Balochistan apart, beyond its geographical magnitude, is its abundance of mineral resources and, most notably, its strategically vital location at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. This confluence of factors has bestowed upon Balochistan immense geopolitical importance, making it a focal point for multinational trade and energy routes, including gas and oil pipelines. However, the paradox of Balochistan’s strategic significance is that, for the past six decades, it has been denied its rightful share of national resources. The promises of equitable budget allocation, substantial developmental projects, improved road and rail infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions have largely remained unfulfilled. While international projects like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipelines have been negotiated by the Pakistani government, their implementation has been sluggish, despite the nation’s persistent energy deficit.
This critical analysis delves into the intricate web of challenges faced by Balochistan, focusing on the region’s strategic relevance, its rich mineral endowments, and the enduring disparities in resource allocation and development. It also examines the consequences of these disparities on the Baloch people and their historical resistance movements. By dissecting these multifaceted aspects, we seek to illuminate the complex interplay of geopolitical interests, economic imperatives, and socio-political dynamics that define Balochistan’s complex reality.
The age old grievances of the common Baloch people and the apathy of Pakistan government has created a vicious and dangerous environment in the province. The voices of progress, equality, justice are often silenced by the federal intelligence and military agencies. Balochistan is infamous in world arena for intermittent incidents of resistance of Baloch people and various insurgent groups. The gas pipelines of the region have long been a target for these groups, as a symbol of protest against the state sponsored atrocities on Baloch people.
On October 22, 2023, a gas pipeline was blown up in Pirkoh Field of Dera Bugti district, suspending gas supply to various areas. In a media statement, a pro-independence Baloch armed group, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed to target Pakistani forces and its installations until the independence of Balochistan. On September 14, there was an explosion in the gas pipeline from Sui to Karachi at the village of Ghulam Rasool Malik in Kashmore district of Sindh. On September 11, two gas pipelines were blown up in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti district, suspending supplies to the Zain Koh plant. On January 17, gas supply to some areas of Balochistan was disrupted after a 12-inch diameter gas pipeline exploded in in Sirajabad of Bolan district.
According to Baloch nationalists, ever since natural gas has been discovered, the attitude of the federal government towards the indigenous Baloch population has been one of irrelevance. The jobs of well-paid managers are filled from outside the province, local Baloch are generally hired in low end jobs as day laborers and the government funding of technical training institutes has never seriously been well thought out. A foremost subject between Balochistan and the federal government of Pakistan is royalty on natural gas produced in the province. The most determined and continuing grievance of Baloch people has been that these resources have been exploited by the central government without acceptable recompense to the province.
Balochistan has extensive gas reserves. According to an estimate, out of the Pakistan’s estimated 25.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven gas reserves, 19 trillion are in Balochistan. Around 23 percent of the total national output of natural gas is being exploited from Balochistan, including 18 percent from the Sui gas field in the Bugti tribal area.
Sui is still the single largest gas field in Pakistan. In 1952, PPL discovered a huge natural gas field at Sui in the Bugti tribal area of Balochistan. It was the 7th largest gas field in the world and the biggest in Pakistan at that time. From that day the natural gas got name and fame as ‘Sui gas’ all over the country. Commercial exploitation of the field began in 1955. Since then, the Sui Field has been meeting a significant amount of the Pakistan’s energy requirements. Originally a 406.4 mm (16 inches) gas transmission line was laid from Sui to the industrial city of Karachi with a length of 559 KM (347 miles). The initial customers were the power stations in Karachi. Afterward, the industrial areas of Karachi were given importance and finally to domestic and commercial consumers.
Despite its significant natural resource wealth, Balochistan stands as the poorest province in Pakistan. The origins of the long-standing disputes between the Baloch people and the Pakistani state can be traced back to the discovery of natural gas in Sui. The introduction of gas supply to major Pakistani cities commenced in 1964, marking a significant development. However, it is regrettable that the capital of Balochistan, Quetta, had to wait until 1986 to receive gas services, and even then, it was primarily directed to meet the demands of military cantonments.
Notably, a substantial portion of the country’s natural gas resources is derived from the Bugti tribal areas, an area deeply afflicted by Baloch militancy. It’s important to highlight the complex relationship between resource extraction, local grievances, and the insurgency in this context.
Sui is situated in the district of Dera Bugti, could be described as one of the most food-insecure districts in Pakistan. This reflects the broader socio-economic challenges faced by many in the region, further exacerbating the existing tensions. Balochistan’s struggle for equitable resource distribution and development remains intertwined with the persistent issues of food insecurity, economic disparities, and security concerns.
Balochistan has sizable reserves of natural gas, and there is conjecture that it may also hold large reserves of petroleum. Now, however, it is the province’s natural gas that has special importance in Pakistan’s energy profile. Natural gas, accounting for about 50 percent of Pakistan’s total energy consumption, is currently the country’s principal energy source. The militant nationalists’ competence to either block or disrupt the operations of the natural gas industry is evidently substantial, creating a genuine threat, not a mere nuisance.
Meanwhile, Chinese presence in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adds fuel to the volatile situation in Balochistan. China has been heavily investing into Pakistan’s economy since 2015 with the creation of CPEC. They have dedicated billions to develop infrastructure, including a network of natural gas pipelines within Pakistan, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facilities, and modernization of power and transportation infrastructure. Ethnic Baloch militants particularly tapped into sentiment that Chinese investment has not benefited locals. The recent reapproval of Chinese 300 megawatt project in Gwadar has also raised both economic and environmental questions. The Baloch nationalists are of the view that projects under the CPEC are infringement into the life of common Baloch. The projects are not only exploiting natural resources of Balochistan but also creative Chinese enclaves on the soil of the province, along with rampant discrimination against the local Baloch populace.
Pakistan’s economy is heavily reliant on natural gas, which accounts for over half of the country’s overall consumption of energy. Attacks against this supply of energy by Baloch insurgent is a protest as they consider the pipelines to be symbol of a cruel state institution, which is blatantly killing their own people since the creation of Pakistan. Baloch people have been denied of their basic dignity and right to life. The episodes of explosions in gas pipelines are a harsh reality, with no solution in sight soon. On the ground, the Pakistani state maintains severe and repressive measures, and the common people bear the burden of its transgressions.
In conclusion, Balochistan’s enduring struggle for justice and autonomy, symbolized by attacks on gas pipelines, underscores the complex challenges faced by this strategically significant yet impoverished region. The presence of vast natural resources, particularly natural gas, has added further complexity, with Baloch militants disrupting the status quo. The introduction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) amplifies the tensions, raising concerns of resource exploitation and local disenfranchisement. Balochistan remains a place of both hope and hardship, as its people persist in demanding their basic rights and dignity. The intricate narrative of Balochistan’s past and its uncertain future continues to shape the region’s complex reality.
*Dr Jalis Akhtar Nasiri is a leading scholar and a journalist. He contributes regularly on issues of utmost importance.