THE protests in Balochistan continue, having begun over a week ago. In the midst of much uncertainty and volatility elsewhere, including a rather kosher protest near Islamabad, the voice of the Baloch has mesmerised many. And this despite the fact that coverage on television and most of print remains minimal; the information and images coming our way are thanks to social media.
The protest seems to have taken on a new intensity and new purpose, even though the issues they are highlighting are not new. Perhaps this is why it is hard to figure out what to write on Balochistan; what ails the province or, rather, the manner in which it is dealt with has been talked of again and again, and the words seem to have fallen on deaf ears. But then, if there is a patron saint for journalists in Pakistan, it is St Jude, aka the saint of lost causes; those of us who chose this profession are destined to repeat ourselves, knowing full well that no one is listening.
Balochistan is our wound, which has been festering for 20 years now. In these two decades, the province has changed considerably, but there is little realisation of it; for those in power, the lack of awareness is convenient and deliberate; addressing it would require changing much in terms of what the powerful take for granted. And deliberate because ensuring the ignorance has kept most of the country from understanding the injustice meted out........