Daily News Analysis

Pakistan bomb blasts

stylish_lining

Pakistan bomb blasts

Why in the News?

A recent bomb blast has killed at least 53 people and injured over 70 in a suicide blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, marking it as the deadliest terror attack in Pakistan since 2018.

Balochistan remains a problem province for Pak:

  1. Balochistan is the largest Pakistani province which is sparsely populated and impoverished, compared to the rest of the country. 
  2. Its strategic location and abundance of natural resources, especially oil, makes it strategically vital for Pakistan.

 

 

  1. The province has been a site of bloody insurgencies, brutal state repression, and an enduring Baloch nationalist movement since 1948.
    1. Though the province chose to remain as an independent Baloch state, a treaty of accession was signed between Baloch and Pakistan after the Pakistan Army moved into Balochistan in 1948.
    2. five Baloch “wars of independence” were fought in 1948, 1958–59, 1962–63 and 1973–1977, and currently ongoing since 2003, against the accession agreement.
  2. These insurgencies have been brutally dealt with by Pakistani forces, who have been accused of committing numerous atrocities such as abductions, torture, arbitrary arrests and executions.
  3. According to NGO ‘Voice for Baloch Missing Persons’, around 5,228 Baloch people have gone missing in the period between 2001 and 2017.
  4. In the recent times, Baloch nationalist organisations have grown close to Islamist organisations including the TTP and the Islamic State.

Driven by ethnic wedges, economic injustice

  1. Fundamental reason for the persistence of conflict is ethnic difference.
    1. People of Balochistan have a shared history, language and other cultural similarities.
    2. This is very different from Punjabis or Sindhis.
    3. However, Punjabi landlords who had an almost unchallenged hold over Pakistan’s bureaucracy, led to sparking of ethnic differences.
    4. The ethnic differences became the driving force behind Baloch nationalism.
  2. Deep economic and political grievances faced by the Baloch people.
    1. It entails a sense of economic alienation.
    2. They do not gain the advantages of its own abundant natural resources.
    3. The economic injustice faced by the Baloch population was revealed by the construction of the China-backed Gwadar Port, in which Punjabi and Sindhi engineers and technical specialists were hired en masse in spite of extremely high levels of unemployment among the educated Baloch population. 

Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency

The study by Nomura researchers calls for reform of India’s Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms, particularly to better protect small cars. Key Highlights of the Study: 1.
Share It

Delhi’s Fuel Ban for Old Vehicles

The Delhi Government has faced considerable backlash following its fuel ban for old vehicles under a directive from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The ban was implemented to cur
Share It

India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023

The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 has sparked controversy by attributing part of the negative change in forest cover to the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. The claim has been contested b
Share It

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a crucial international agreement that plays a key role in the conservation and sustainable use of plant g
Share It

Green Climate Fund (GCF)

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has recently approved over USD 120 million to support climate resilience projects in Ghana, the Maldives, and Mauritania. This funding aims to assist these countries i
Share It

Quad Critical Minerals Initiative

The Quad Critical Minerals Initiative launched by the United States, India, Australia, and Japan marks a significant shift in global geopolitics and economic strategy, especially with regard to cr
Share It

NITI Aayog's Proposal

NITI Aayog's proposed roadmap to boost India's chemical exports is a significant step toward enhancing the country's position in global chemical supply chains and addressing existing i
Share It

One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The newly introduced 1% tax on outbound remittances under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) by the United States has raised concerns about its potential impact on global remittance flows, particu
Share It

pulse cultivation

The Department of Consumer Affairs, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has launched an important initiative to promote pulse cultivation in India, especially to
Share It

Gini Coefficient

The Gini coefficient is a key measure used in economics to quantify income inequality within a country or region. Developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini, it serves as an essential tool
Share It

Newsletter Subscription


ACQ IAS
ACQ IAS