Balochistans poverty related issues are well documented and widely known all across the country. Many attempts in the past have been made to address these issues without yielding the desired fruits for one reason or another. Will this package meet a different fate is anybodys guess given the strong opposition in the province itself.
To address the poverty issue, the package proposes five thousand additional jobs with immediate effect in federal government offices to meet the quota requirements. If implemented, this proposal could go a long way to bridge the trust deficit between the locals and the federal government.
In order to facilitate and safeguard the provinces seafood industry, which contributes about 20 percent of the countrys total fisheries output, the package suggests employment of the locals in the coastguard department that would help a great deal in dealing with loss on fisheries account.
Another long standing demand of Balochistan has also been addressed to quite an extent, which relates to the single largest gas field of the country, Sui. The biggest issue with Sui is that its wellhead price has historically been at massive (40-50 percent) discount to the fields in other provinces. This has resulted in lower royalty fees and, more importantly, lower Gas Development Surcharge (GDS), i.e. the differential between cost and the retail price.
Since the GDS is calculated at weighted average price all over the country, it reduces Suis due share because of its considerably lower wellhead price. In order to remove this anomaly and ensure that Balochistan gets just share in GDS collection, the package promises an even price structure for all gas fields throughout the country.
The package also emphasizes on increased role of public-private partnership in new exploration contracts where the provincial government would be entitled to receive 15 percent of the revenue, hence answering the decade old plea of the locals to have the ownership rights on their resources.
Another refreshing clause in the package relates to the supply of gas to the districts where it has been explored, which is a good omen, considering that about 80 percent of the population is still dependent on fire and dung cakes in a province that provides 40 percent of the countrys total primary energy.
There, however, is a confusion whether the clause only relates to the upcoming projects or the existing ones as well - as it won be much effective if it doesn include existing fields.
There is no denying that peaceful situation is a prerequisite for economic prosperity, which unfortunately has not been the case in Balochistan. The proposed withdrawal of army troops from the sensitive area of Sui may be a good political move to please Baloch nationalists, but it can potentially dampen the chances of economic development in the area.
That said, the overall package seems to be a right step in the right direction but it lacks timeframe, leaving unanswered questions as to when will these issues be resolved. The outright rejection of the locals is also a major concern as economic motives can be achieved without the consent of the locals who demand political freedom rather than mere promises.
The need is to develop consensus among all the stakeholders without which this package, as the name suggests, could end up being just the beginning (aghaaz) with no end.
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