QUETTA: After 20 years, drought had devastated major parts of Balochistan once again. The Government at all levels is unmoved and yet to accept that drought had played havoc with the people and resources, mainly water resources of Balochistan.

The drought will be more devastating for the Quetta Valley and its surrounding where the water table had gone down more than 300 feet during the past one year and in absence of significant rains to recharge or keep water table to sustainable level.

Reports coming from all corners of Balochistan confirmed that there is serious strain on available water resources and the source is depleting fast which the rulers and administrators are yet to realize its intensity and impact on the local economies of all the regions.

At the Federal level, the rulers are happy in playing politics or showing interests in the projects ensuring rich returns to the decision-makers and they were found least bothered about the impact and intensity of drought prevailing in Balochistan for the past many years.

Flocks and their owners are the main affected people in the devastating drought forcing them to dispose of their assets at throw away prices in absence of availability of water for drinking in remote areas of Balochistan which is huge and also half of Pakistan.

There is a drought in the entire region including Iran, Afghanistan and major parts of Central Asia and also parts of Sindh and the Punjab where there are no chances of rains predicted by the weather prophets in near future. With the passing of days, the drought and its effects will be more deadly in completely destroying the local economies in all the affected regions.

There was drought in the whole region some 20 years ago and Balochistan was severely affected. The then military Government of General Pervez Musharraf was also found unmoved and it rejected the demand that there should be an international appeal seeking world help for the drought affected people of Balochistan. The demand was rejected with full contempt disallowed all international organisations and friendly countries coming to the help of the affected people of Balochistan.

It remained a practice that the Federal Government denied international help and assistance to the people of Balochistan whenever any natural disaster hit this part of Pakistan. The people, in general, condemned this inhuman approach of the rulers towards and the affected people of Balochistan, mainly those affected by massive earthquakes, torrential rains and flood or drought.

Balochistan witnessed 11 major natural disasters during the past two decades and in all cases the international community was barred from participating in the relief work providing some comforts to the affected people. In one of the cases, the security people virtually chased out Iranians from serving relief goods in the flood affected areas of Eastern Parts of Balochistan.

Reports pouring in from all parts of Balochistan particularly Zhob, Loralai, Marri-Bugti and Khetran Tribal regions, Sibi, Kachhi, Central Balochistan, Naushki, Dalbandin, Nokkundi, Kharan, Mekran, including  its long and unending Mekran coastline where major Pakistani ports are located, Lasbela and adjoining regions of Afghanistan and Iranian Balochistan said that the drought condition will be more severe in coming months, it will force the local population to migrate to areas where water is available, particularly the canal irrigated division.

It is possible for the nearby human settlements to move closer to the canal irrigated region to Naseerabad and Sindh while tribesmen from Eastern Balochistan can migrate to neighbouring human settlements of the Southern Punjab. But the people from the desert region, mainly Mekran, Kharan and Rakshan regions had no facilities in their neighbourhood and the Government will have to come to their rescue in a big way which is possible with the help of the international community or developed countries of the world.

The begging from the overseas Pakistanis should not be repeated as they had meager resources for their own survival. The Government should accept economic aid and assistance from the wealthy and developed countries in the regions, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries and the Western world to provide relief to the affected people.

The level of Federal assistance and relief for the affected people of natural disasters was deplorable. In case of torrential rains and heavy floods in whole of Balochistan, the then Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced a cash grant of Rs 100 million and he disappeared from the scene. A similar amount of contribution was made after five long years making it double as Federal contribution. When the public opinion subsided, the Federal Government took the back seat. Same was the situation with Awaran Earthquake. A federal Government Minister announced a token assistance and the entire Federal Government and the entire relief operation was handed over to Jamatul Dawa and a small Government sponsored charity organisation with unclean background was asked to provide relief. All other world organisations, even from the UNO, were barred from providing relief efforts.

The former Chief Minister, Nawab Aslam Raisani, was on record to have told the media the losses from floods in Sibi, Kachhi, Naseerabad, Marri-Bugti, Khetran tribal territories were over two billion US dollar where millions of people were displaced and they lost their belongings and homes. To this date tens of thousands of people and families are homeless. The Government of Pakistan came with a token assistance of around Rs 2 billion covering a period of two long years and left the affected people at the mercy of nature.

This time, the political forces, both inside and outside the parliament, should take the Federal Government to task for complete relief to all affected people while the Provincial Government should immediately declare whole of Balochistan as Calamity Area and provide them relief with the help of the world community. The Provincial Government should make an appeal to the international Community and the United Nations for help and relief. This time, the people of Balochistan should not be discriminated and denied international help, mainly from the developed countries of the world as was the case with Azad Kashmir earthquake where the whole world was allowed to provide relief even 10 years after the earthquake.

In the past 11 natural disasters devastated Balochistan and its resources, the Government had left the people at the mercy of nature, this time it should continue the relief operation till the end keeping in view the relief provided to the affected people of Kashmir Earthquake.