By Umair Jamal
Pakistan’s federal government needs to address the Baloch people’s legitimate concerns.
Baloch alienation continues to increase in Pakistan as the upcoming national census, expected to take place in the next few months, might relegate them to minority status in Baluchistan. Many Baloch nationalist parties have accused the federal government of systematically converting the Baloch population into a minority in the province.
On many occasions, Baloch leaders have vowed to refuse the census results if their legitimate concerns are not addressed. Seemingly, the government remains indifferent, as it has announced that the population census will go on without addressing the status of other ethnic groups in Baluchistan, largely comprising immigrants, particularly Afghan refugees and Pashtuns.
The presence of a large number of Afghan refugees has had a weighty impact on the demographics of Baluchistan. In the aftermath of the Soviet invasion in 1979, Afghan refugees came to Pakistan in the millions. This created a substantial demographic imbalance between the majority Balochs and the Pashtuns. According to some reports, more than four million Afghan refugees have settled across Baluchistan and a large number of them have obtained citizenship and other rights.
Afghan refugee settlement across Baluchistan has further exacerbated Baloch and Pashtun tensions in the province. According to the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR), around 80 percent of Afghan refugees in Pakistan are Pashtuns, and the majority of them live in Baluchistan. Many of them are expected to remain there, substantially augmenting the province’s already formidable Pashtun minority.
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