Increasing Youth’s Frustration in Baluchistan

The youth of Pakistan is the hope of the future, and they must be trained in the art of war and the art of peace quoted by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah resonates with the belief that the youth has the potential to shape the future of Pakistan and hence through a balanced approach, they should be educated and equipped with knowledge and strength to defend their nation and bring about peace and prosperity. The real question is whether these visions and advice are truly being followed, especially when it comes to Baluchistan, where the youth are surrounded by hopelessness, deprived of basic facilities, and lacking opportunities.

For the young people of Baluchistan, peace has turned into an abstract dream which contributes to their frustration in addition to the other existing ones such as lack of education opportunities, quality education, low family support, unemployment, insufficient transport facilities, poverty, and monetary issues, health care especially absence of mental health wellness facilities, other engagements and sports education, sectarianism and security concerns.

Education is the only window of hope through which the youth of Baluchistan can work their way toward a better future. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the literacy rate in Baluchistan is 42%, a much lower percentage as compared to the other provinces of Pakistan. Few universities exist in the province, such as Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), the University of Baluchistan (UOB), and Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta (BKWU). However, the lack of quality education and outdated curriculum, every year, these institutions produce under-skilled graduates who struggle to find employment and livelihood in the competitive markets.

Youth Engagement: The Need of the Hour

Beyond the poor quality of education, there is a shortage of sufficient research equipment and transportation facilities. A tragic incident in which a student lost his life in an overcrowded bus of BUITEMS reflects the failure of development efforts for the youth in Baluchistan. The loss of a young life was treated as a routine matter—grieved and forgotten. An important imperative arises: why are the government and university authorities always so blind to the daily problems and issues the youth, which they are facing in daily lives, especially about education?

In comparison to other provinces in the nation, Baluchistan’s young face threefold as many challenges in the domains of education and employment. The university budget shortfall is the official answer from university authorities whenever these concerns are raised. The youth of Baluchistan are becoming more and more irate due to these issues; they feel unheard when they raise their demands for fundamental requirements like education.

Students are compelled to fight for their rights through student federations and organizations. The Pashtun, Hazara, and Baloch organizations play a crucial role in advocating for the rights of the students, resulting in the polarization of society: a threat to the peaceful co-existence of the youth of Baluchistan. In some institutions the Student Affairs section is dysfunctional and such problems are distracting the youth from academics, diverting their focus more on strikes and protests.

The absence of parks, public libraries, and adequate sports facilities in Baluchistan is one of the primary issues that has to be addressed. Enhancement of the current infrastructure becomes essentially necessary. The lack of amenities in even intellectual spaces like libraries perturbs the youth of Baluchistan, who find it difficult to allocate enough time for both social and academic pursuits. On the other hand, while on a lesser scale, the Quetta Book Café serves as a platform that mitigates social disengagement. At this hybrid café and library, young people from many ethnic backgrounds—Hazara, Pathan, Baloch, Punjabi, and others—participate in regular sessions and community engagement events.

Sectarianism is rooted deep in the soil of Baluchistan which has been a constant factor of frustration for the youth of Baluchistan. The sense of insecurity among the young ones, because of the target killings and bomb blasts especially minorities like Hazaras are forced to migrate to other countries. The preconceived prejudices, the different sects have against each other are still a factor of division and distress among youth. The youth of Baluchistan is striving hard to secure scholarships out of the province or country while some have illegally migrated to other countries due to security concerns and violence ensued the ethnic divisions and sectarianism. The psychological frustration they are facing, can’t be measured.

Baluchistan is a province stricken by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, sectarian violence, and many other socio-economic tensions more severely than other provinces which also negatively affects the youth. Most of the low-income families in Baluchistan who manage to send their children to universities to get higher education have high expectations of them to be their family’s breadwinners and are often unaware of their struggles.

It is therefore important that the government take notice of the increasing youth frustration in Baluchistan and prevent the potential and capabilities of the youth from being squandered. It not only needs infrastructural development in terms of libraries, parks, and sports grounds with better facilities for the youth but also a revised and advanced curriculum that should enhance their skills to secure scholarships and jobs in the national and international realm. Arranging career counseling workshops for the youth is also the need of the hour so that they can make their decisions prudently.

Despite emphasizing their mental and psychological well-being in society, extracurricular activities that fall behind in Baluchistan’s institutions ought to be integrated into the academic program. Better transportation options need to be available. Through entrepreneurship encouragement and local industry development, more job opportunities for Baluchistan’s young should be developed.

The government and institutions need to plan more inter-youth cultural engagement events to lessen young sectarianism and foster a more welcoming and secure environment throughout the province. It is important to solve their issues without resorting to harmful methods. The sooner the ideas are put into practice rather than just being papered over, the more optimistic the youth of Baluchistan will be about the future of their country.