Adnan Aamir

Balochistan Voices Online Newspaper will be Launched on 20th February

2016-02-16T14:47:00.000+05:00

Balochistan Voices English-Language Online newspaper will be launched on 20th February.

Balochistan Voices aims to be the premier online newspaper of Balochistan shortly after its launch.

Adnan Aamir, Editor of Balochistan Voices resigned as the editor of Balochistan Point earlier this month.

He intends to use Balochistan Voices to highlight the ignored socio-economic issues of Balochistan and contribute in solving the basic problems of people of Balochistan.

Please Like the Facebook page of Balochistan Voices.

Follow Balochistan voices on twitter.

Adnan Aamir Resigns as Editor of Balochistan Point

2016-02-03T15:00:00.000+05:00

Adnan Aamir, editor of Balochistan Point has resigned from the online newspaper with effect from February 3, 2015. He ceases to be part of the editorial team of Balochistan Point anymore.

Balochistan Point is currently the only English-language online newspaper from Balochistan. It was established in the year 2010 to highlight news stories which were ignored by mainstream media. Balochistan Point was dormant and not widely know till July 2014 when Adnan Aamir took over as editor of the paper. Today, Balochistan Point has become a well recognized name in and out of Balochistan mainly due to efforts of Adnan Aamir

Adnan Aamir served as the editor of Balochistan Point from July 2014 till February 2016. He resigned from Balochistan Point because he wants to establish his own online newspaper soon.

In his resignation letter Adnan Aamir wrote, “I am thankful to Balochistan Point for providing me the platform which enabled me to be a recognized face in online journalism in Balochistan.” He further wrote that He wants to see Balochistan Point successful in the future.

Balochistan Point also wishes Adnan Aamir best of luck in his future endeavors and lauds his efforts as the editor of the paper in last 19 months.

Editorial: Hajira Case Exposes Double Standards of Balochistan Government

2015-11-30T02:11:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Hajira is a 13 year old girl from Kharan and who is suffering from acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Treatment of this illness is only possible in Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Hajira belongs from an underprivileged family and her patients can’t afford to finance her treatment in AKUH.

Civil Society Balochistan, a coalition of citizens of Balochistan, picked up the case of Hajiraand also collected some donations for her. A delegation of Civil Society Balochistan called on Chief Minister (CM) Balochistan, Dr. Malik Baloch. Delegation requested from CM to issue a directive to health department to finance the treatment of Hajira.

After listening to request of the Delegation, CM outrightly rejected their plea, citing lack of funds. He even went on to say that one of his close relative died of cancer and its God’s will and he can do nothing to help Hajira.

This was an ordinary day at the office for CM Balochistan. He might reject pleas of delegations like this on daily basis. However this particular case has once again exposed the double standards of Balochistan Government and especially that of Dr. Malik Baloch who falsely claims to be a representative of middle class.

Treatment of Hajira required upto 4 million rupees and CM claims that he does not have that much amount left in his discretionary funds. Whether he is lying or telling the truth, it’s difficult to ascertain. However, there are several ways though which government can arrange a mere Rs. 4 million for treatment of Hajira. More than one government officials have told Balochistan Point that CM can release funds of Rs. 4 millions in few minutes if he is interested in helping Hajira.

Balochistan Point also came to know that when Dr. Malik Baloch was not the CM, He had made similar please to then government. In fact, based on his pleas millions of rupees were released for treatment of at least two seriously ill patients. However, when he is in the government, he has apparently forgotten the plight of families of patients.

Moreover, this also raises the issue of priority of utilization of almost Rs. 200 billion that Balochistan government receives from federal divisible pool. Balochistan government has tens of millions of rupees for Sports festivals and Galas and advisements of government in newspapers but not for treatment of a underprivileged cancer patient. This hints towards fund utilization approach of government which is surely pro-elite class and anti-people in nature.

In August this year, a bulky delegation of 34 Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) visited USA. Balochistan government paid an estimated amount of Rs. 100 million for that trip. Even now a delegation of MPAs of Balochistan Assembly is on tour of United Kingdom. Again Tens of millions of rupees from provincial exchequer are being wasted on it. But, there are no funds for treatment of Hajira. Hypothetically speaking, if 2 MPAs in the current trip had not been part of the visit then it would have saved enough to finance treatment of Hajira.

Earlier this year, Balochistan Point raised the case of 22 year old Student Ameerullah Kakar. Balochistan government financed the treatment of Ameerullah Kakar once it was highlighted by media. That was a very commendable step by the Balochistan government and deserves appreciation. The difference between case of Ameerullah and Hajira is that in case of former there was interest and involvement of opposition leader and Chief Secretary which is missing in case of latter.

Civil Society Balochistan is looking for alternative sources to fund the treatment of Hajira. They might be able to get some donors but that will be a very difficult and time consuming process. The easiest way to save the life of Hajira was to seek the help of Balochistan government which has been shut down by the abrupt refusal of CM Balochistan to help her.

One can’t say that Dr. Malik will stay in office of CM after December 4th due to the infamous Murree Accord. Dr. Malik in his 30 month tenure has let people down by every means. He was supped to be the representative of middle class but he ended up as a beneficiary of the elite class. Middle Class keeps on suffering under the watch of Dr. Malik and case of Hajira is a huge example of that.

Editorial: Intermediate Result Debacle

2015-09-13T02:41:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

As per the result announced by Balochistan Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BBISE) 71 percent candidate, out of 26,882 that appeared in exams, could not pass it. Those who passed the exams have also scored lower marks, on average. As expected, Intermediate students who were victimized by BBISE took the streets. On 6th September,almost 3,000 students protested outside of BBISE building which led to violent clashes with police.

After protest of students Balochistan government constituted a committee that was supposed to probe the Intermediate result. Later, it was revealed that committee would only investigate issues raised by individual candidates through applications. Committee would submit its report within a week and it’s impossible for it to conduct any meaningful investigations on what has proved to be a controversial intermediate result.

Balochistan government has presented a unique and absurd explanation of controversial result. Secretary Education told media that in intermediate exams cheating was controlled and that’s why majority of students failed. No one can take this explanation of Secretary Education seriously. It’s a desperate attempt to cover-up a blunder committed by BBISE.

In this entire issue the most important thing is the future of thousands of students that has been put in jeopardy by BBISE. Thousands of students would not be able to take admission in universities because either they have failed in exams or scored low marks. Effectively one academic year of thousands of students would be lost due to incompetence of BBISE.

If truth be told, there were plenty of problems with BBISE even before announcement of this result. Chairman BBISE is a controversial person and everyone knows that he is the man of an ethnic political party. Appointments made in BBISE by Chairman based on ethnic favoritism also has pivotal role in the deterioration of quality of BBISE at large.

Now, government should do all it can to correct the blunder committed by BBISE. First thing that should be done is to replace the government officers in BBISE including Chairman, Controller and even secretary BBISE. There is no justification for them to continue serving in their existing capacities after what transpired in aftermath of intermediate result.

Secondly, government needs to form a new committee to probe intermediate result. Members of Committee should not comprise of any of the three aforementioned BBISE officials. Committee should probe the mechanisms through which the exams were conducted and papers were marked. If flaws are detected in the marking system then entire intermediate result should be declared null and void and new exams should be conducted to save the future of thousands of candidates.

Most importantly, government of Balochistan should establish new education boards in province on emergency basis. Initially three new boards should be formed and made functional in Loralai, Khuzdar and Turbat. That would not only recue the burden faced by BBISE and will also make it more convenient for students of districts located far from Quetta.

Intermediate result debacle is one more reason to support the assertion that educational emergency imposed by Balochistan government has failed. Never in history of Province have students in such huge numbers been declared fail. It’s a really big question mark on the claims of incumbent government about betterment in education.

28th August Declared as Day of Martyred Journalists

2015-08-28T02:33:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Quetta – Journalistic fraternity of Balochistan has declared 28th August as the annual day of Martyred journalists, on Friday.

A condolence reference program was held at Quetta Press Club (QPC) to observe the first anniversary of Irshad Ahmad Mastooi who was assassinated in broad daylight on 28th August last year.

Irshad Ahmad Mastooi the bureau Chief of Online news agency was killed along with Abdul Rasool, a journalism student and internee at Online and Mohammad Younis accountant of Online.

Daughters of Irshad Mastooi protesing

Condolence reference was held by Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) with the help of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and QPC.

Saleem Shahid, veteran journalist and acting president of PFUJ lamented the failure of Balochistan government in apprehending the killers of dozens of journalists in Balochistan.

Protest rally of Journalists passing through Shahra-e-Iqbal

Khurshid Abbasi, secretary general of PFUJ, stated that over 100 nation-wide protest demonstrations have been conducted by PFUJ in last one year against injustices meted out to journalists of Pakistan.

Shahzada Zulfiqar, President of QPC, stated that journalists in Balochistan face threats from security forces, political parties and tribal leaders and also from student’s organizations.

President of QPC lamented the role of mainstream media of Pakistan in ignoring the issues of Balochistan.

Narrating the conversation of a meeting that took place with Chairman of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Shahzada Zulfiqar said that “CPNE chairman said that whatever coverage Balochistan is getting in mainstream media is more than enough.” Mr. Shami advised Balochistan journalists that they should ask Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan to increase ads payment to newspapers and the Balochistan will get more coverage.

Shahzada Zulfiqar criticized the outcome of judicial commission set up by provincial government. “We demanded that judicial commission should probe the murders of all 24 journalists but government only restricted the probe to case of Irshad Mastooi and that’s why BUJ boycotted it,” claimed Mr. Zulfiqar.

Others who spoke at the occasion include Hammadullah Siapaid President of BUJ and relatives of Mohammad Younis and Abdul Rasool.

BUJ President presenting charter of demand to Political Secretary of CM

After conclusion of the condolence reference, a rally comprising of over 100 journalists marched from QPC to T&T Chowk near CM House. Journalist leaders of Balochistan presented the charter of demand to the political secretary of CM, Khair Jan Baloch.

A candle light vigil was held after the sunset, outside QPC, to pay tribute to Irshad Ahmad Mastooi and other slain journalists.

How Balochistan Point Helped Ameerullah, A Student in Trouble?

2015-08-23T02:25:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Ameer Ullah Kakar is a 22 year old student from Killa Saifullah District of Balochistan. He travelled to USA as a part of Global Undergraduate (Global UGRAD) programme. Soon after his arrival in USA, he fell ill and was diagnosed with Brain tumor.

Balochistan Point came to know about the case of Ameer Ullah through a source. After that, a news story was published in Balochistan Point after rigorous investigations to prove the claims made by the family of Ameer Ullah.

Balochistan Point confirmed form Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland that indeed Ameer Ullah has been diagnosed with Brain tumor. Balochistan Point also contacted Public Affairs Officer of U.S Consulate General in Karachi, Press Information Officer of U.S Embassy in Islamabad and USEFP in connection with this story.

Once published, news story of Balochistan Point about Ameer Ullah went viral on Social media in Balochistan.

Samaa News contacted Balochistan Point and sought the contact numbers of the family of Ameer Ullah so that they can cover the issue. Based on the story of Balochistan Point, Samaa was the first news channel to cover the story.

Screenshot of Samaa News covering Ameer Ullah issue

However, in contrast to media norms and ethics, Samaa News didn’t acknowledge the role of Balochistan Point in bringing this issue to notice of everyone. Balochistan Point condemns the unethical behavior of Samaa News.

In contrast to media norms and ethics, Samaa News didn’t acknowledge the role of Balochistan Point in breaking this story.

After Samaa, Dawn News also picked up the news and broadcasted video news to highlight the issue.

Screenshot of Dawn News covering Ameer Ullah Issue

Daily Qudrat Newspaper and Daily Azadi newspaper, both based form Quetta, also covered the news after it was picked by Samaa and Dawn News.

Balochistan Point published news story about Ameer Ullah on 19th August and the very next morning, Chief Secretary Balochistan, Saifullah Chatta directed Deputy Commissioner of Killa Saifullah to contact family of Ameer Ullah. Officials of Pakistani embassy in Washington also paid a visit to Ameer Ullah on instructions of Chief Secretary.

Chief Secretary Balochistan announced to fund medical treatment of Ameer Ullah after Balochistan Point brought this issue to mainstream attention.

Molana Abdul Wasay, opposition leader in Balochistan Assembly and Member of assembly from Killa Saifullah, paid a visit to Ameer Ullah in Karachi and assured him full support.

Chief Secretary Balochistan called Ameer Ullah and informed him that all his medical expenses would be borne by Balochistan Government. Chief Secretary also assured him that once his treatment is completed, Balochistan government would facilitate Ameer Ullah to resume his studies where he left, due to illness.

Ameer Ullah thanked Balochistan Point for its role in bringing issue of his medical treatment to mainstream media in Pakistan.

Balochistan Point will follow up this story to ensure that Balochistan government makes good its promises and fund complete medial treatment of Ameer Ullah.

Balochistan Point vows to continue its responsible reporting in highlighting the issues of Public Importance.

How Balochistan Point helped Ameer Ullah is one more success story of Balochistan Point.

Balochistan Point vows to continue its responsible reporting in highlighting the issues of Public Importance and bringing them to attention of the concerned authorities.

U.S State Department To Deport Balochistan Student Diagnosed With Brain Tumor

2015-08-19T02:20:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Quetta – U.S State Department is planning to deport a student from Balochistan who has been diagnosed with brain Tumor while living in USA, learnt Balochistan Point.

22 years old Ameer Ullah Kakar belongs to Killa Saifullah district of Balochistan. A student of 6th semester of B.A in Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad, Ameer Ullah Kakar travelled to USA as a part of Global Undergraduate (Global UGRAD) programme.

Ameer was a part of 125 student contingent that travelled under the auspices of United States Educational Foundation Pakistan (USEFP), in second week of August, to study in USA under a cultural exchange program. He was enrolled in Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky to study one semester before returning back to Pakistan.

While studying in USA, Ameer was diagnosed with brain tumor.

Ameer (Right) with a friend, at Islamabad Airport, before travelling to USA

“U.S state department wanted to deport Ameer immediately after his diagnosis, but with the help of a Pakistani doctor, initial treatment was provided to Ameer in Sub-urban Hospital situated in Bethesda, Maryland,” Aziz Ullah Kakar, bother of Ameer told Balochistan Point.

Gary M. Stephenson, Director of Public relations Suburban Hospital, confirmed to Balochistan Point that Ameer Ullah is a Patient at Suburban Hospital.

Mr. Aziz claims that doctors in Sub-urban hospital have advised that operating the patient will paralyze half of his body and therefore laser therapy should be used.

Reportedly, U.S State department has referred Ameer to Aga Khan Hospital Karachi where Brain Tumor can be treated and arrangements are underway for his return journey to Pakistan.

Family of Ameer has been told to receive him at Karachi Airport at 4:30 am on 21st August.

U.S Consulate General in Karachi declined to comment on the case of Ameer Ullah citing privacy issues, when asked by Balochistan Point.

“Given the nature of the request, we cannot provide any information on our exchange travelers,” Mark E. Kendrick, Public Affairs Officer of U.S. Consulate General Karachi replied to Balochistan Point when asked to comment on case of Ameer Ullah.

“Ameer might get proper treatment in Aga Khan Hospital Karachi but our financial situation is critical and we can’t afford to pay the high fee of that hospital,” lamented Mr. Aziz.

“No one form Pakistani embassy has provided any sort of help to Ameer so far,” another relative of Ameer told Balochistan Point. “Ameer is living in house of a Pakistani doctor and he has proved to be a big help,” added the relative.

“We want that Ameer should remain in USA for the term of his program, which is another 6 months, and continue his studies and also get his laser therapy at same time,” demanded Aziz Kakar.

Brother of Ameer fears that if his brother is deported to Pakistan he will not get proper treatment due to financial consists faced by the family.

Balochistan Point could not independently verify the claim that Ameer Ullah would medically suffer if shifted to Pakistan.

Aziz Ullah Kakar has demanded from Balochistan government, foreign Office in Pakistan and other concerned officials to step in and, in his words, help save life of his brother by preventing his deportation.

Poor Province – Extravagant Foreign Trip for 34 Member Delegation

2015-08-18T02:53:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Quetta – 34 member delegation of Balochistan assembly will visit USA on a trip that will cost Rs. 35 approximately to the provincial exchequer, learnt Balochistan Point.

Delegation will be led by deputy speaker of Balochistan assembly, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo. Other participants include opposition leader Molana Abdul Wasay, deputy opposition leader Zamruk Achakzai, Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Minister for information and parliamentary affairs Abdul Rahim Zairatwal among others.

Reportedly, delegation will depart for USA on 19th August to take part in programs in connection with yearly independence festivities of Pakistan to be held in USA on 23rd August.

Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr. Malik Baloch has nominated names of five parliamentary leaders and rest of the names have been nominated by Chief Secretary, a source within Balochistan assembly told Balochistan Point.

Delegation also consists of the names of Secretary Balochistan assembly and his four staff members. Rahila Durrani is the only female member of the 34 person delegation, learnt the Balochistan Point through its source.

Deputy Secretary of Balochistan Assembly, Mr. Shams-ud-Din has written a letter to protocol office of foreign office to get visas for all 34 members of delegation on urgent basis.

Balochistan Point came to know through another source that approximately 1 million rupees will be spent on per member of delegation. This means that this delegation will cost almost Rs. 35 million to the provincial exchequer.

Dr. Malik Baloch is on record claiming to reduce administrative expenses and sending a delegation of 34 people is a clear negation of his stance,” Nawab Ghous Baksh Barozai, former Caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan, told Balochistan Point.

Nawab Barozai further added, “I don’t see any sense in sending a crowded delegation of 34 people to USA. If our participation is necessary then we should rationalize our participation by remaining within our financial limits.”

Dr. Malik announced, at the beginning of his tenure, to cut down unnecessary government spending but he has been widely criticized for not keeping his word throughout last two years.

Editorial: BPSC Must Bring its House in Order

2015-08-17T02:35:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

Balochistan Public Service Commission (BPSC) is a constitutionally-mandated autonomous body which is responsible for recruitment on provincial government jobs that have scale of BPS-16 or higher. BPSC has been marred by corruption and mismanagement in recent past. Last Chairman of BPSC was unceremoniously sacked by Governor of Balochistan after a judicial inquiry report found him responsible for corruption in job recruitment. Now, BPSC has a new Chairman but he needs to bring BPSC in order.

Government jobs are the primary source of employment in the province. Small scale jobs in government departments are either sold to highest bidder or awarded to the party workers of the ruling parties. This effectively means that jobs advertised through BPSC are the only jobs where candidates without any political backing can compete for jobs. Unfortunately corruption in this organization has badly damaged the morale of all such candidates who wanted to get jobs through pure merit.

Recently, it’s reported that Balochistan government has authorized recruitment on vacancies of 41 Assistant Commissioners (ACs) and 22 Section Officers (SOs). These recruitments were delayed for last five years due to possible corruption in BPSC. Now that new chairman has taken charge, these vacancies have finally been approved for recruitment. According to estimates around 8,000 to 10,000 candidates would take the exams for these prestigious and lucrative jobs. These candidates are those people who have been waiting for these jobs for last 5 years and have done reasonably degree of preparation for the forthcoming recruitment exams.

In this context, it is must for BPSC to ensure that recruitment process of these 63 vacancies is completely transparent and free from any sort of corruption. For this purpose BPSC needs to bring its house in order. That requires vetting the BPSC from all the corrupt officers and members. When former Chairman Asharf Magsi was involved in selling jobs, he had the help of certain commission members who have not been dismissed yet. One such member is Jalal Khan Mandokhail who is alleged to be partner of Ashraf Magsi in selling jobs to candidates. In fact, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a reference against Jalal Khan Mandokhail for alleged corruption when He was Secretary Health of Government of Balochistan. It would only be fair If Mr. Jalal is dismissed as a member of BPSC. It would be a first step in restoring the confidence of candidates in transparency in BPSC.

Moreover, news coming to the surface regarding recruitment process in BPCS is not satisfactory. It was alleged in recruitment of Research Officers for Planning and Development Department that up to Rs. 5 million were demanded from candidates who wanted to buy them. This news is not verified form independent means and such allegations can’t be verified due to their nature. Similarly, it was reported that vacancies of Medial Officers in Health Department were delayed time and time against just to ensure that relatives of influential people get their degree and be eligible to apply. These practices are unacceptable in any transparent organization and BPSC has failed to display transparency, even after change of its Chairman.

New Chairman of BPSC, Justice (retired) Mehta Kailash Nath Kohli, has a sound reputation and clean track record. Since taking charge of the office, He has made some procedural changes in application process which have made it difficult for the candidates to apply. So rather than wasting time and effort on petty procedural issues, BPSC Chairman must ensure that all corrupt elements, including members, must be shown the door out of BPSC. He also needs to ensure that recruitment process in no way should be influenced by anyone in provincial government including Chief Minister and Governor. It’s up to Mr. Kohli whether he would make BPSC a center of merit and good governance or go down in the history as another Ashraf Magsi.

Who’s responsible for the growing number of road accidents in Balochistan?

2015-08-15T00:47:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Nation

11 people were killed in a deadly road accident on August 10, near Kalat district in Balochistan. Road accidents consuming lives of more than dozens of passengers is a normal occurrence on the highways of Balochistan. The reason for a rising number of accidents is the poor performance and conduct and control structure of National Highway Authority (NHA) and National Highways and Motorways Police (NHMP) in the province.

According to data provided by the Home department, 240 people lost their lives in major road accidents in the year 2014 alone. Deadliest road accident that year took place on March 22, when 40 people were killed. Increase in highway accident casualties has been ignored due to prevailing law and order situation in the province which has resulted in scores of causalities through other means.

The first reason for growing number of road accidents in Balochistan is the type of highways in the province. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan and therefore it has national highways comprising a total length of 3,599 kilometers. Major national highways in Balochistan include N-25 connecting Quetta to Karachi, also called RCD highway, N-40 connecting Quetta with Taftan, N-50 connecting Quetta with D.I Khan, N-65 connecting Quetta with Sukkur and N-10 coastal highway linking Gwadar with Karachi.

All of these are busy and strategic roads but they comprise of just two lanes without any divider between them. That’s right; there is no highway with divider between its lanes in Balochistan. This is one of the major causes of road accidents in Balochistan. Whenever a careless driver wants to overtake another vehicle, the nature of highways in Balochistan increases the probability of a deadly accident. Despite all the claims of development in Balochistan by successive federal governments, none bothered to pay attention to this basic problem. NHA, the body responsible for developing highways, has never paid attention to the nature of highways in Balochistan either.

The second reason is the traditional and systematic delay of NHA in constructing highways of Balochistan. Most of the deadly accidents have taken place due to the fact that highways were under construction. Timely completion of highway project is something that NHA in Balochistan is not accustomed to do. The infamous Nawab Aslam Raisani was Chief Minister of Balochistan for five years. During his entire tenure he did his level best to ensure completion of N-25, from Quetta to Kalat, which fall in his constituency. Unfortunately, NHA did not complete a 100 km part of N-25 in five years even when a provincial Chief Minister was constantly pushing for it. To put this into context, state-of-the-art Lahore-Islamabad Motorway was constructed in less than two years. And so, it’s evident that the centralization of Ministry of Communication and federal control of NHA is dearly costing Balochistan.

The third reason is the less than satisfactory performance of National Highways and Motorways Police (NHMP) in Balochistan. NHMP is responsible for regulating traffic on National highways through effective policing. NHMP is responsible for developing mechanisms to ensure compliance with road safety mechanisms. However, NHMP has failed to do its job properly in Balochistan due to its negligible presence. Out of the 3,599 km long national highways of Balochistan, NHMP only regulates 357 km portion of N-25 and 110 km portion of N-10. Balochistan consists of 37.66% national highways of Pakistan and only 16.95% apparatus of NHMP. Not to mention the fact that NHMP is a federal subject and out of the control of Balochistan government.

NHA has disappointed people of Balochistan with its performance. In the Annual Development Program, funds are seldom released for National Highway projects approved for Balochistan. In such a situation, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a ray of hope for the state of national highways in Balochistan. Under CPEC, a network of roads would have to be constructed that connects Gwadar port in Balochistan with Kashghar in western China. There was hope that Balochistan would get wider, 4-6 lane, roads stretching from Gwadar to Zhob via Quetta. However, these hopes were shattered the day the Punjab-centric government of PML-N shifted the 6 lane motorway project, under CPEC, to Sindh and Punjab and provided Balochistan with more ‘Grade-II’ two-lane roads. In other words there would be no desirable improvement in national highways of Pakistan even after $46 billion projects of CPEC are completed.

Now, what can be done to improve National Highways in Balochistan? There can be some solutions but they are not easy to implement given the federal control of subject of national highways. Therefore, Balochistan along with other provinces should lobby for decentralization of NHA and NHMP and bring them under provincial control. It would be a bitter pill for swallow for the federal government but that’s the price that needs to be paid to maintain a vibrant and sustainable federation. Once that’s achieved, if ever, then Balochistan government should allocate funds from its own development program for widening national highways in Balochistan. This would not only reduce the road accidents substantially but it would also improve the economic capacity of entire province.

Return of Khan of Kalat: What Politicians Say

2015-08-15T00:29:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: Balochistan Point

One of the ruling parties of Balochistan, National Party (NP), is making attempts to perused Khan of Kalat, Mir Suleman Dawood Khan, to return to Balochistan. Two delegations of NP have met Khan of Kalat and Senior Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri is presently in London to meet with Khan of Kalat. In this context, Balochistan Point talked with different politicians and asked their response on this issue:

Nawab Ghaus Baksh Barozai

Former Caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan

“After a lapse of almost 2 years the Government has taken the step which it should have taken at the beginning of its tenure. It’s never too late but the modus operandi of the Government is inviting suspicions as only National Party Leaders and a government official were included in the delegation. I see this as an attempt for Political Point scoring only.”

Senator Dr. Jehanzeb Jamaldini

Acting Organizer of Balochistan National Party

“Khan of Kalat doesn’t enjoy support of any strong political party in Balochistan. Neither any insurgent group is under his control. Therefore His return to Balochistan will be just symbolical.”

Zahoor Buledi

Former Member of Balochistan Assembly

“If Khan of Kalat returned to Balochistan then it would be a credit for the current government and they can use it for political point scoring. There will not be any disadvantage of Khan’s return as he has no influence on the ground.”

Senator (R) Sanaullah Baloch

Former Parliamentarian and current senior advisor of UNDP

“Issue of Khan of Kalat is an attention diverter from core issue of Balochistan and therefore I think it’s not worthwhile to comment on this issue.”

Rising Balochistan’ Seminar Held in Quetta

2015-08-13T00:44:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Quetta – Rising Balochistan seminar was held in Serena Hotel Quetta, on Thursday.

Seminar was organized by the Balochistan chapter of Alumni Association of National Security Workshop (AAN) with the support of Balochistan government.

Governor of Balochistan, Muhammad Khan Achakzai was the chief guest of the seminar and delivered the opening address about how Balochistan is developing and rising.

Commander Southern Command, Lieutenant General Nasser Khan Janjua was also present on the occasion.

Seminar was divided into three plenary sessions; first session was titled Geo-strategic Perspective, second session was titled Security and Governance in Balochistan and third session was titled Rising Balochistan – Pakistan’s new resolve.

Security Situation

Sarfraz Bugti, provincial minister of Home and tribal affairs delivered a lengthy speech about law and order situation in Balochistan.

Mr. Bugti discussed the efforts of incumbent Balochistan government in curbing organized, crime, sectarian attacks and insurgency.

“Balochistan police has more sophisticated technology as compared to police forces of all other provinces,” claimed Mr. Bugti.

He further said that, “We have managed to eliminate notorious commanders of sectarian organizations through intelligence based operations.”

Highlighting the support the military has provided to Balochistan government, Mr. Bugti revealed that Special Services Group (SSG) of Pakistan Army has trained Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) of Balochistan Police and Levies force has been trained by Frontier Corps (FC).

Briefing the participants about implementation of National Action Plan (NAP), provincial minister said that 4,069 people have been arrested in Balochistan as a part of NAP.

He announced that Apex committees would be constituted at division and district levels to improve coordination between civil government and military and paramilitary forces.

Governance in Balochistan

Nawab Ghous Baksh Barozai, caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan in 2013, apprised the participants of the seminar about the governance related issues of the province.

“I governed for 2 and half months without a cabinet because governance related problems would have compounded if I had a cabinet,” said Nawab Barozai.

Chieftain of Barozai Clan corrected Sarfraz Bugti on the issue of who had facilitated purchase of advance tracking technology for Balochistan Police.

“I paid for the purchase of tracking equipment from my secret funds and even acquired receipts for that,” added Mr. Barozai.

Nawab Barozai further claimed that He handed over relatively much peaceful Balochistan to incumbent government as compared to what he had inherited at the start of his tenure.

Economic corridor

Jam Kamal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural resources also delivered a lengthy presentation about Balochistan.

Jam Kamal stressed on the need to increase capacity of Balochistan government in all aspects so that it’s ready to absorb the potential benefits of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Mr. Kamal said that access to justice should be the primary focus of the rising Balochistan as there can be no progress without justice in the society.

Regional issues

Nawabzada Aminullah Raisani, former ambassador of Pakistan to Syria, Lebanon and Oman also addressed the seminar. He lamented that there is no trade between Iran and Pakistan at major scale just because Iran share borders with Balochistan.

Dr. Shahid Masood, anchorperson and famous analyst, said that not only Baloch insurgent leaders but also the Baloch ministers in incumbent governments are living luxurious lives.

Notable Journalists and columnists from Pakistan including Haroon Rashid, Wajahat S. Khan also participated in the seminar.

Rising Balochistan seminar was concluded on the note that development of Balochistan is essential for prosperity of Pakistan.

NADRA is disrupting demographics in Balochistan by issuing fake ID cards

2015-08-07T20:22:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Nation

National Databases and Registration Authority (NADRA) is the premier body of Pakistan for issuing nationality related credentials to citizens. Established in early 2000s, NADRA has earned praise for developing a huge database with a reasonable degree of security. Under-developed countries like Sri Lanka have also used the services of NADRA to develop their own nationality database. However, lately several officers of NADRA have been involved in issuing illegal Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and that has resulted in serious problems especially in Balochistan.

This week it was reported that 40 NADRA officials had been found to be involved in issuing CNICs to terrorists. High profile Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists, who were foreigners, possessed Pakistani CNICs. The report had further revealed that 22,000 fake CNICs were issued in 2014 and 64,000 in just seven months of 2015. Although fake CNICs have been issued all over Pakistan but Balochistan is the center stage of this practice where Afghan refugees are the beneficiaries.

It was revealed in a meeting of District Council Chagai that incumbent Afghan President Asharf Ghani also holds a Pakistani CNIC. Member district council, Malik Dilmurad Hasni, presented documentary proof that a Pakistani CNIC was issued to President Ghani. This was shocking news and speaks volumes about the incompetence and corruption prevailing in NADRA Balochistan. President Ghani has never lived in Pakistan and therefore it’s simply unfathomable how he got a Pakistani CNIC issued in his name.

NADRA in Balochistan was repeatedly blamed in the past for issuing CNICs to Afghan refugees. These blames were rejected as political rhetoric and mere allegations until NADRA employees confessed to this crime. In the beginning of this year an anti-corruption court in Quetta sentenced two data entry operators of NADRA, namely Manzoor Osto and Allah Baksh, to 21 years behind bars. They were found guilty of issuing thousands of CNICs to Afghan refugees. Last year, an accountability court in Quetta awarded seven year imprisonment sentences to two assistant directors of NADRA for the same crime; issuing fake CNICs to Afghan refugees after taking bribe.

After conviction of half a dozen NADRA officials in Balochistan, Now it’s a fact that illegal CNICs have been issued to Afghan refugees in huge numbers. Druding investigation by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) one fake CNIC racket admitted to have issued half million illegal CNICs to afghan refugees.

Issuing fake identity documents anywhere is a crime and not good for the country. However it has greater importance in case of Balochistan. This province has a small population and different ethnic groups have their share in assemblies based on the population mix. Influx of millions of illegal Afghan Refugees with Pakistani CNICs would drastically alter the population mix of the province. The constituency allocation in the province would be affected and it will give rise to another conflict which would be catastrophic for the province.

Balochistan has a Baloch majority population with a sizable population of Pashtun as well. Majority of Afghan refugees are Pashtun and that’s why it’s commonly believed that they would swell the population of Pashtun at detriment of Baloch community. It’s true that Baloch population is the primary victim of Afghan refugees with illegal CNICs but what is not known is that fact that Pashtun population will also suffer. The refugees will get the jobs and other opportunities form the share of Pashtun population. This means that NADRA, by issuing illegal CNICs to Afghan refugees, is badly affecting the interests of both Baloch and Pashtun in Balochistan.

After conviction of its employees, NADRA has blocked CNICs of over 80,000 alleged Afghan refugees in Balochistan. This is not enough because NADRA officials themselves confessed to have issued millions of illegal CNICs, not thousands. According to official figures, Pakistan has 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and another 1 million unregistered. Those refugees that have gained Pakistani CNICs are not a part of the aforementioned figures. So, blocking CNICs of few thousands of people is not the solution of this problem in context of Balochistan.

Two things need to be done on urgent basis to tackle this problem before it becomes too huge to handle. Firstly, across the board governance reforms need to be introduced in NADRA. The internal controls of NADRA should be reviewed and all the necessary improvements should be made to close the door on illegal CNICs forever. All NADRA officials who have any connection with the practice of issuing fake CNICS should be held accountable and there should be zero tolerance for anyone.

Second thing that needs to be done is the audit of all suspected CNICs issued in Balochistan in last ten years. NADRA has a sophisticated database and it will not be very difficult to identify the illegal CNICs issued to Afghan refugees. Having a genuine family tree in Pakistan should be the criterion for differentiating between genuine citizens and afghan refugees. At the same time, Baloch and Pashtun residents of Balochistan should not be harassed by NADRA in any way during issuing of CNICs to them.

Afghan refugees had to leave their homes and flee to Pakistan in aftermath of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It’s a fact that they witnessed a lot of hardships in their initial years in Pakistan. Notwithstanding all sympathies that one should have with Afghan Refugees, they can’t be allowed to possess illegal CNICs and disrupt demographics in Balochistan.

What We Need To Learn From China

2015-08-04T20:44:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Pakistan is a developing country and it needs to learn from experiences of other countries. There are many countries which can be taken as case studies on how a country like Pakistan can develop and solve its basic most problems. Among these countries, none provides better learning opportunities then our time-tested friend and neighbor, China. Pakistan can learn a great deal from Chinese experiences and can get on the right track in terms of development.

My knowledge about China was limited until I happened to be a part of Journalist delegation visiting China earlier this month. As the only participant from Pakistan, I got to see the Weifang city in Shandong province of China. My first hand experiences of China compelled me to believe that there is so much Pakistan can learn from the Chinese experience and way of doing things.

China is the largest country in the world in terms of population and third largest in terms of area. This naturally means that China is extremely hard to govern. However, the way cities of China are managed proves that governance is really good in China despite the size disadvantage. Cities of China are built with proper town planning. Future needs are taken care of before starting a new project in any area of China. That’s why even after massive increase in population of cities like Beijing and Shanghai there are not much governance related problems. If we compare that with Pakistan, we only have one planned city in form of Islamabad. Well planned cities are the basic most requirements for providing a quality life to citizens and Pakistan can learn a great deal on How Chinese excel in this field.

Another thing in China that baffles a common Pakistani is the cleanliness in the cities and towns of China. All the roads and streets are well maintained and there is no sign of heaps of garbage and open drains. This has been made possible due to effective government machinery and educating the common public. An average Chinese citizen is much more conscious about cleaning his environment as compared to a common Pakistani. The reason for this difference can be traced to education systems of both countries. Pakistan’s education system has failed to educate the citizens about their civic duties, something that Chinese school system is doing really well.

Moreover, China is the second largest economy in the world and all set to surpass USA as the largest economy in next few decades. The reason for this success of China is the industrial model of China which focuses on clustered industrial zones. In China, there are industrial zones and areas that only produce one type of product. Meicun village in Weifang city comprises of 87 factories that only produce Kites. As a result Weifang is known as the Kite capital of the world. High-tech zone of Weifang comprising of 110 square kilometer area only produces goods and services related to information technology. In Pakistan, an industrial zone comprises of factories of different range of products which is counter-productive according to Chinese industrial philosophy. Pakistan can alter its industrial zone strategy in line with Chinese way to make industrialization successful.

China is controlled by Communist Party of China (CPC) and everyone believes that country is run by a totalitarian dictatorship. It’s also believed that Chinese people are considered to be suppressed people who face all sorts of restrictions from their government. Only a visit to China can dispel this notion and prove it to be wildly untrue. People of China seem to be as free as in any western democratic country. Chinese government doesn’t interfere in the personal lives of people through moral policing. Law enouncement agencies in China also don’t unnecessarily harass citizens like in Pakistan. In fact, Police and other law enforcement agencies can only be seen at airport and railway stations. Chinese government spends a fortune on protecting its borders and that’s how it manages to ensure order in its cities. Pakistan government should learn from their Chinese counterparts and focus on eliminating the root cause of security related problems rather than flooding roads and streets with Police and Paramilitary personnel.

Furthermore, China is very conscious about its cultural heritage and therefore taking laudable steps to preserve it. Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976 destroyed substantial portion of cultural heritage and that’s why current regime wants to preserve what’s left of it. Government spends a great deal of resources on preserving all sorts of cultural sites such as Art galleries, Ancient temples, Residences of painters and art collectors and so on. Even the folk artists who perform traditional Chinese square dances are paid by government so that their art remains alive. Chinese government perfectly understands the importance of culture and how it can help in nation building. They way China is preserving its culture and supporting people associated with cultural activities is a lesson to be learnt not only for Pakistan but almost all countries of the world.

Fortunately, China has agreed to invest over $46 billion in different projects in Pakistan under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Chinese capital and labor would be used to develop those projects and it would help in economic development of Pakistan. This also presents a golden opporuntiy for Pakistan where it can seek assistance of China in all matters related to governance. Pakistan can formally request China to provide help in town planning, Industrial zone planning, maintaining cities and cultural protection and so on.

It’s not necessary for Pakistan to replicate the Chinese model in entirety because the dynamics of Pakistan are somewhat different from China. However it would be unfortunate if Pakistan didn’t utilize Chinese experience, in any way, despite having cordial relations with China. Taking advantage of expertise of People’s Republic of China is something that Pakistan can’t afford to miss at this juncture.

Systematic Deprivation of Balochistan in Federal Jobs

2015-08-04T20:36:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Quetta – A detailed study of vacancies announced by Federal Public Service commission (FPSC) hints towards systematic deprivation of Balochistan in federal jobs quota.

FPSC is an autonomous body that is constitutionally mandated to carry out recruitment on federal government vacancies for jobs of scale BS-16 and above.

Federal government jobs are distributed among four provinces of Pakistan, FATA, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) And Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) according to a prescribed Quota. Balochsitan’s quota is 6 percent in Federal jobs.

The Balochistan Point studied the newly advertised vacancies by FPSC to investigate systematic deprivation of Balochistan.

On 2nd August, FPSC announced 156 vacancies in 19 different categories. These vacancies comprise of jobs from BS-16 to BS-18 in different departments and organizations under federal control.

Following is a detailed breakup of these jobs with provincial allocation:

Job	Merit	Punjab	Sindh (U)	Sindh (R)	KP	GB-FATA	Balochistan	AJK	Total
OMO		3		1	1				5
APS	2	2				1			5
Staff Nurse		13	3	4					20
APS		3		1					4
APS	3	10	3	4	4	2	2	1	29
APS	1			1					2
APS	1								1
AFDC		1							1
AD		1							1
Director		1							1
Staff Nurse							1		1
ACAO		3	1				1		5
DCAO	1	4	1	1	1				8
Cameraman		1							1
Program Analyst		2		1					3
SWO	1	1							2
Inspector –FIA	8	36	4	2	8	2		1	61
RO		2		1	1			1	5
ASO							1		1
Total	17	83	12	16	15	5	5	3	156

AD = Assistant director, OMO = Ordnance Management Officer, APS = Assistant Private Secretary,
AFDC = Assistant Fisheries development commissioner, ACAO = Assistant chief Administrative Officer,
DCAO = Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, SWO = Social Welfare Officer, RO = Research Officer,
ASO = Assistant Security Officer

Balochistan has only been allocated just 5 vacancies out of 156 advertised vacancies. As per 6 percent quota, Balochistan share should have been allocated 10 seats but actual allocation is 5 seats less than the quota.

Balochistan has been completely ignored in the allocation of important vacancies such as Inspectors for Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Out of 61 vacancies of Inspector FIA, not a single one has been allocated for Balochistan. Even Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have been given allocations but not Balochistan.

Screenshot of FIA jobs section of FPSC website

These inspectors, among other duties, can also act as shift In-charge at the FIA Immigration Check-points at Airports.

People of Balochistan have often complained about the treatment that they receive at Airport immigrations counters. Author is eyewitness to the discrimination that Shalwar-Kameez wearing Balochistan citizens face at FIA Immigration Check-points and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) check points at Airports.

“We face discrimination at Airport check points because the FIA and ANF personnel consider us aliens,” Haji Badr-ud-din a frequent international traveler told The Balochistan Point. He added, “FIA officers form Balochistan, if there are any, should be posted on Airport check points of Quetta and Karachi from where we normally travel.”

Despite repeated attempts by The Balochistan Point to make contact, Secretary FSPC was not available for a comment on quota rules violation for Balochistan.

Current vacancies announcement by FPSC is not first instance of violation of Balochistan Quota. On 27th July Quetta Electricity Supply Company (QESCO) a federally controlled entity, also violated Balochsitan’s job quota in 45 vacancies that it advertised.

Out of 47 vacancies of BPS-17, not a single one was allocated for Balochistan. QESCO was asked to stop recruitment process by Chief Secretary of Balochistan after he took notice of the protests from civil society of Balochistan against violation of quota rules.

“In my capacity as a member of different Senate standing committees, I have put up questions with PIA, HEC, CDA, OGDCL, SNGPL, SSGC and other departments and asked them to explain how they are fulfilling 6 percent quota of Balochistan,” Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini told The Balochistan Point.

Senator Jamaldini further revealed that people of other provinces possessing fake domiciles of Balochistan take jobs on what’s left of Balochsitan’s quota. “DMG officers serving as Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners have issued domicile certificates to their relatives, in huge numbers, which are used to deprive people of Balochistan form their quota in jobs,” claimed Senator Jamaldini.

In a move which was severally criticized by people of Balochistan, Last year, Federal government declined to commence recruitment on 3,692 Federal jobs reserved for Balochistan.

Where has Balochistan's 6% quota in Federal jobs, gone?

2015-07-31T20:19:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Nation

On the 26th of July, 45 vacancies of BPS-17 were advertised in Quetta Electricity Supply Company (QESCO). Out of these 45, not a single vacancy was allocated for Balochistan. Electrical Engineers of Balochistan were waiting for these vacancies for over two years and they were totally disappointed. Fortunately, Civil Society of Balochistan protested against the injustice and the provincial allocation of those jobs was cancelled for the time being. This was not a one-off incident but a normal occurrence when it comes to awarding Balochsitan’s quota in Federal jobs.

The state apparatus of Pakistan is managed by different organizations and departments. In a federation like Pakistan it becomes important that those departments and organizations have across the board representation. In order to ensure adequate representation of all provinces and territories, a quota system for Federal jobs has been devised. According to this system Balochistan is entitled to get 6 percent of all jobs in the Federal apparatus - but where this quota is utilized, is in the discretion of Federal bureaucrats.

Balochistan is technically deprived of his constitutionally mandated share in federal jobs. There is almost no representation of Balochistan in top bureaucracy and this result in bureaucratic injustice with the province. At the moment, out of 49 Federal secretaries not a single one is from Balochistan. In the absence of provincial representation at the top most administrative hierarchies, it’s natural that Balochistan can’t get its due share in Federal government jobs.

Recruitment for Federal jobs of higher-scale takes place through Federal Public Service Commission and on lower scale through the concerned ministry. In low-scale jobs, Federal bureaucrats employ cunning tactics to select their own relatives on the quota of Balochistan. Job applications sent by candidates of Balochistan are rejected for flimsy excuses. As a result, a situation is artificially created where there is no valid application for Balochistan Quota Jobs. After that, the cunning bureaucrats transfer these jobs to open merit and get their relatives or family members appointed. This practice goes unchecked because of two reasons: first, there are not any government officers that can protect the interest of Balochistan; second, the distance factor, as candidates of Balochistan can’t visit Islamabad regularly to personally inquire about problems in their applications.

Moreover, issuance of fake domiciles is a major cause that results in depriving genuine candidates of Balochistan of Federal government jobs. Anyone who has a domicile of Balochistan can apply on Balochistan quota for Federal government jobs, competitive examination vacancies and foreign scholarship. Unfortunately, thousands of fake domiciles of Balochistan have been issued to people outside of Balochistan again due to the handy work of Federal bureaucrats.

Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of districts are authorized to issue domicile certificates to people. Officers outside of Balochistan are posted as DCs of different districts. Some of these DCs, in the past, have abused their powers and issued fake domiciles to their friends and relatives in abundance. According to estimates, the number of such fake domiciles is in tens of thousands. Chagai and Kharan are two districts that are believed to be centers for the issuance of the highest number of fake domiciles.

Now, this puts the genuine domicile holders of Balochistan in an unfavorable situation. When they apply for Federal jobs, positions in competitive exams or for foreign scholarships they have to compete with fake domicile holders who are mostly residents of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The standard of education in Balochistan is inferior to that in Punjab and KP and that’s why candidates of Balochistan often lose their due share of jobs to fake domicile holders of Balochistan. This is yet another major cause of deprivation of Balochistan which has not yet come under notice.

Balochistan is already suffering from chronic unemployment. Government jobs are the only major source of employment for the unemployed youth of the province. Provincial jobs are either awarded to party workers by the ministers or sold to the highest bidders. This leaves only Federal jobs for the hard working candidates who can get recruited on them after passing the tests and interviews. However, the systematic deprivation of Balochistan from Federal jobs is further closing the doors on the unemployed youth of Balochistan and forcing them to express their anger by picking up weapons.

Without wasting any further time, corrective action must be taken to prevent further damage. The first thing that needs to be done is to verify the domicile certificates of all those who have got jobs on under the Balochistan quota but live outside of the province. Federal government, with support of Balochistan government, must start this verification drive on war footings and verify all such cases. When over 100 million cellular sims can be verified then there should be no problem in verifying a few thousands of domiciles. Any person found guilty of possessing a fake domicile certificate of Balochistan should not only be dismissed from the job but should also be forced to return all the salaries earned from the post.

Apart from that, Balochistan government should also take the initiative of auditing all domicile certificates awarded all over Balochistan in the last 15 to 20 years. It would not be possible to verify each and every certificate, therefore this exercise should be carried out on sample basis. A district found to have a high ratio of fake domicile certificates then should be subjected to a detailed and intense scrutiny. This would help in the cancellation of tens of thousands of fake domiciles, and in the facilitation of genuine candidates of Balochistan who are competing for jobs which are rightfully theirs.

Zhucheng: Home to World’s Largest Concentration of Dinosaur Fossils

2015-07-30T20:49:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Weifang prefecture is a tourist’s paradise due to multiple unique things that it can offer. Weifang is dubbed as World’s Kite Capital, its center for art, painting and cultural preservation, its home to one of High-tech zones of China and it also contains archaeological marvels in the form of Dinosaur parks in Zhucheng county.

Zhucheng County in North-eastern Shandong province of China is home to World’s largest concentration of Dinosaur Fossils. Zhucheng is a county-level city under Weifang prefecture. With a population of 1.1 million, Zhucheng is 2 hours drive away from Weifang city.

Since 1960s, Zhucheng has been a huge attraction for Paleontologists who found World’s largest concentration of Dinosaur Fossils in the area after years of work. Local government of Weifang made the decision to turn Zhucheng into a center for Dinosaur tourism and research.

Reconstructed skull of a Dinosaur

Government therefore commissioned the construction of Shandong Zhucheng Dinosaurs National Geo-Park. Situated at a distance of 10 Kilometers from downtown Zhucheng, this Dinosaurs Geo-Park consists of 7 halls, 3 museums and one tunnel.

Dinosaur fossils of different kinds are put on display for tourists and researchers. Individual parts of Dinosaurs buried in ground are displayed using a specially constructed display area. Dinosaur skeletons fully reconstructed are also on display in the Geo-Park.

Skull of a giant Dinosaur

Apart from the treasure stored in this geo-park in form of dinosaur fossils, its design is also a source of attraction for visitors. The main stadium of this geo-park covering an area of 70,000 square meters was built with an investment of over 400 million Yuan, approximately $ 64 million.

As recognition of excellence of Shandong Zhucheng Dinosaurs National Geo-Park, it has been given the status of Unparalleled World Geological Wonders by Executive Board of the UNESCO World Geo-park.

Fossils buried at extraction site

Dinosaurs Geo-Park is not the only attraction related to dinosaurs in Zhucheng. China Tyrannosaurus Museum, situated 6 Kilometers away from downtown Zhucheng, is another center for display of Tyrannosaurus fossils. Comprising of an area of 30,000 square meters, this museum was built exactly where China Tyrannosaurus was unearthed.

Buried Fossils

In other parts of the world Dinosaur fossils are transferred form extraction sites to Museums built in cities. China has started a new trend by establishing Dinosaur Museums exactly where the Dinosaur fossils are discovered.

Skeleton of a baby Dinosaur

Local tourist guides maintain that a tourism visits to china is incomplete without Visit to Weifang prefecture. They further claim that a tourism visit to Weifang is incomplete without visiting Zhucheng and its Dinosaur museums.

Election Rigging in Balochistan

2015-07-29T21:09:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

2013 General elections proved to be one of the most controversial elections in history of Pakistan. Election rigging saga that started right next day after elections has come to an ended after the release of report of Judicial Commission formed to prove election rigging. Judicial commission rejected the charges of PTI that elections were systematically rigged to benefit PML-N. The verdict has ended the debate on election rigging but it has left a lot of unanswered questions relating to Balochistan.

There is no doubt that Balochistan was the biggest victim of rigging in 2013 general elections. That Pashtunkhwa Milli Awmai Party (PKMAP) won from PB-4, PB-5 and NA-260 which was not possible without rigging. Similarly, no elections were held in Panjgur but still National Party (NP) candidates were declared victorious. These are just two examples of massive rigging that took place in Balochistan in last general elections. Ample proof was submitted to the judicial commission about rigging in Balochistan. However all that proof went in vain due to Terms of reference of judicial Commission which didn’t focus on rigging in individual constituencies.

This simply means that those responsible for rigging in Balochistan got away without accountability of any kind. Who was responsible for rigging in Balochistan? One can’t say with certainty due to absence of concrete proof. However there is concrete proof that establishes the fact that elections were engineered in Balochistan. Lack of accountability of those responsible in election rigging means that door of rigging is still open in future elections.

Government parties in Balochistan namely NP and PKMAP are making claims of their victory after the verdict of Judicial Commission. There claims are childish because they are either unaware of terms of references of judicial commission or just want to make fools out of common public. Judicial commission never investigated rigging claims in each and every Constituency of Balochistan it just focused on an organized effort to benefit PML-N. So the verdict of Judicial Commission is victory for no one but defeat for democracy in the province.

Due to lack of accountability for 2013 general elections, provincial government managed to rig local government elections 2013-15 in its favor. Election process was delayed for over 14 months just to ensure victory of NP and PKMAP in different districts. The way incumbent government conducted local government elections is a black chapter in the history of Pakistan. After electing Mayors and district Chairmen, provincial government is hesitant to transfer power to them which is causing problems for people of the province.

The need of the hour is to introduce meaningful electoral reforms to close the door of rigging forever. Electoral reforms committee set up in National Assembly should work on electoral reforms on war footings. Introduction of Electrical Voting Machines is the only practicable solution to eliminate practice of election rigging. If rigging in national elections is not controlled then the democratic process is rendered meaningless.

A Journalist is Incomplete without Accuracy and Impartiality: Shahzada Zulfiqar

2015-07-27T20:30:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Quetta – A journalist is incomplete without accuracy and impartiality, said Shahzada Zulfiqar President of Quetta Press Club (QPC) on Monday.

QPC President made this statement while addressing the concluding session of a workshop held by Center for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI).

Shahzada Zulfiqar thanked CPDI for training journalists of Balochistan and urged them to conduct similar training programs in interior Balochistan.

Saleem Shahid, Senior correspondent of Dawn newspaper said that, “A journalist has to be impartial irrespective of his political inclinations.”

CPDI, a research based advocacy group, held a one-day training workshop for journalists of Quetta in QPC, titled “Role of Media in elections.”

CPDI trainer Mr. Fayyaz delivered lectures on how journalists can improve their election reporting.

Program Manager CPDI, Raja Shoaib addressing workshop

Mr. Fayyaz urged journalists to acquaint themselves with elections laws, relevant code of conduct before embarking on any election reporting assignment.

Group training exercises were conducted to systematically train the participants on how they can best perform their duties during elections.

Over two dozen journalists participated in the workshop from different newspapers and television channels based in Quetta.

In the end, participating journalists were awarded certificates by President QPC Shahzada Zulfiqar and Saleem Shahid.

Qingzhou: A Case Study On Culture Preservation

2015-07-26T13:46:00.002+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Qingzhou city in China is a potential case study for foreign countries, like Pakistan, on how to preserve their culture.

Qingzhou is a county-level city under Weifang prefecture in Shandong province of People’s Republic of China. With a population of almost 1 million, Qingzhou is a cultural hub with heritage of thousands of years.

Qingzhou has been one of the nine major areas in ancient china acting as the cultural, economic and political center for Shandong region for more than 1,000 years.

Qingzhou Museum

In order to preserve and showcase the cultural heritage of Qingzhou, a museum named after the city was formed in 1959. Qingzhou museum today stores more than 40,000 objects in an effort to preserve the rich history of this region. According to sources, Local government of Weifang spends a fortune on running and maintenance of Qingzhou museum in a bid to preserve history.

Songcheng Street in Qingzhou is center for square dancing under patronage of local government. Folk artists, mostly age 50 years or above, can be found performing different form of folk square dances.

On such performer is Li Guangwu who performs the catch butterfly square dance. Aged more than 70 years, Li recalls that he had been performing catch butterfly square dance since he was 15 years old.

Li Guangwu (Pink Shirt) performing

“I learnt this art form my father and today I am teaching it to my grandchildren,” Li told media visitors in Songcheng Street.

Other than Songcheng Street, Qingzhou has four ancient streets that are 1,700 years old. In Ancient streets of Qingzhou, folk artists can be seen singing Chinese rhymes and producing traditional decoration items.

Folk artists singing rhymes in Songcheng street

All the folk artists performing in Songcheng Street and ancient streets are paid by the government.

“We pay 2 million RMB, approximately $325,000 in subsidies for the salaries of folk artists,” said Gao Lingyun, the publicity chief of Qingzhou county.

Folk artists busy in preparing decoration pieces in Ancient street

Qingzhou local government is keen to allow more people to see the performance of folk artists to promote their art.

Gao Lingyun claims that performances of folk artists in Songcheng and ancient streets are not meant for attracting tourists only. She added, “We want to preserve the cultural heritage of Qingzhou by asking folk artists to come out of their homes and show their skills to the world,” added Gao Lingyun.

Author sitting with folk artists in Ancient Street

As compared to art loving government of China, the attitude of Pakistani government towards art is disappointing.

“Pakistani government is always too late on supporting the art, unlike its neighbor China,” Ustaad Murad Baloch, a Pakistani folk artist told The Balochistan Point. He questions, “Why Pakistan can’t follow the lead of China in preserving its folk art.”

PTI should apologize to the nation after Judicial Commission’s verdict against its allegations

2015-07-24T00:18:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Nation

Finally, the Judicial Commission constituted to probe rigging in 2013 elections has presented its report. The commission has concluded that the 2013 general election were “organized and conducted fairly and in accordance with the law.” The revelation by the Judicial Commission, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, is nothing short of a major political defeat and embarrassment for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who should apologize to the nation for the drama that they created in the name of election rigging.

PTI carried out the so-called Azadi March in August 2014 as a reaction to the alleged election rigging in May 2013. PTI announced to gather at least 1 million people in Islamabad to register its protest against current government. Unfortunately, both PTI and Tahir-ul-Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) could not gather more than 35,000 people at a time. As a result, the organized conspiracy to topple Nawaz regime, in the garb of election rigging protest, failed miserably.

Despite the failure of Operation “Get-Nawaz,” PTI lingered its sit-in for 126 days and persisted with the demand to form a judicial commission to probe election rigging. PTI made tall claims that it has plethora of evidence to prove election riggings. When the Judicial Commission was finally formed the party failed to present any meaningful evidence that could prove its claim of organized rigging to defeat PTI.

Out of nowhere, PTI and some anchors sympathetic to their cause came up with the 35 punctures theory. According to this theory, Najam Sethi, the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab during 2013 elections, had manipulated election results of 35 constituencies in favor of PML-N. It was one of the major talking points of PTI before the formation of the Judicial Commission. When the commission was formed PTI didn’t even question Najam Sethi about the alleged punctures. Imran Khan, in a recent interview, even termed 35 punctures as a political statement. This goes on to show that PTI lied to the people all the time when they talked about 35 punctures.

Another allegation of PTI pertaining to election rigging was the alleged role of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. PTI claimed that Iftikhar Chaudhry controlled all the Returning Officers in country during elections and used his influence to rig the election results in favor of PML-N. Again, PTI didn’t miss a single platform to criticize Iftikhar Chaudhry and the Returning Officers for their ostensible role in rigging. When it came to presenting evidence against them in front of the Judicial Commission, PTI backtracked from its claim. Not only was Iftikhar Chaudhry found ‘not guilty’ by the commission but PTI also dropped its allegation against the Returning Officers. That’s another example of how PTI blatantly lied about the heaps of evidence against the former Chief Justice and Returning Officers whey it didn’t have any of it.

When this Judicial Commission was formed, experts believed that it would give verdict in favor of PML-N. There is no denying of the fact that 2013 elections were rigged but there is no evidence to prove that an organized effort was made to help PML-N win the elections. The problem with PTI is that they fooled the nation for over a year with the claims that they have proof of rigging. PTI diverted the attention from several issues of public importance due to their insistence on the rigging issue.

All general elections in Pakistan have been rigged with the rare exception of 1970 elections. Allegations of rigging have been leveled by different parties over time but the results have been accepted. The first few months after the elections is the time in which opposition can protest to nullify the elections. In 1977, Pakistan National Alliance successfully campaigned against rigging in 1977 elections by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. This time around PTI wasted too much time; they waited for over a year to start protest against election riggings. By that time, elections had been accepted by majority of people. So the effort of PTI to nullify 2013 elections was flawed from the outset.

Balochistan was the biggest victim of systematic rigging in 2013 elections. Irrefutable documentary evidence is available, and presented to the Judicial Commission, which proves that elections were not even held in some constituencies from where certain politicians were declared victorious. The Judicial Commission ignored those evidences because of its Terms of References which were based on proving systematic rigging on national level and not in a province. PTI was also not interested in election rigging in Balochistan and their area of interest was limited to Punjab for obvious reasons. That’s why those responsible for rigging in Balochistan once again managed to stay clean.

After wasting nearly two years on issue of election rigging, it’s time to move on for the political landscape of Pakistan. The focus should be on suggesting and implementing electoral reforms for the coming elections. PTI and all political parties should make serious efforts to ensure that electoral reforms are put in practice at every cost. The only way to prevent rigging to a reasonable extent is to adopt electoral voting machines like our neighboring country of India.

As for PTI, it should be aware of the fact that they have been badly exposed by the findings of the Judicial Commission. Now it would be really hard for them to fool the nation in the future. The only way out for them is to apologize for wasting everyone’s time with their election rigging gimmick. PTI should bring its own house in order and start preparing for 2018 elections.

High-Tech Zone Of Weifang: A Glimpse Into Developed China

2015-07-23T00:28:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Weifang the Kite capital of the world is also home to a state of the art high-tech zone which provides a glimpse into development of China.

Located in Shandong province of China, High-Tech zone of Weifang was established in 1992 by Chinese government in a bid to promote technology-driven economic production in the country.

In 2015, High-tech zone of Weifang has grown to be 25th best high-tech zone out of 130 such zones in all of china. Comprising of an area of 110 square Kilometers, this high-tech zone is home to 350,000 people. Companies operating from this high-tech zone produce range of high quality products and that’s why it has got the title of “National Model High-tech zone” for 20 years.

Due to its success and huge volume of activity, High-Tech zone of Weifang produces goods and services worth of 34 billion RMB per year, approximately $ 5.48 billion. So far over $34 million have been invested in this high-tech zone by foreign companies and according to industry experts this figure is expected to rise in near future.

3D printing technology innovation center established with an investment of 100 million RMB, approximately $16.11 million, is one of the major attractions of Weifang high tech zone. This center produces products related to aviation, architecture, engineering and medicine and so on.

3D printing in progress

Products of 3D printing

Weifang High-tech zone also contains companies like Weichai group which was founded in 1946. Weichai group is an automobile and equipment manufacturing company that specializes in producing engines for vehicles, boats, luxury yachts and ships. This company due to its technical sophistication is ranked 147th among top 500 enterprises of China.

A boat engine produced by Weichai group

Luxury yacht produced by Weichai group

25 story building of Weifang Software Park is another example of economic development that can be found in high-tech zone of Weifang. This software park is home to 211 companies and more companies would join in near future, companies of software Park are involved in providing services related to animation designing, geographic information surveying, mapping industrial basis, E-commerce, media advertising amongst others.

Architectural work in progress in Software Park

Software development in Software park

High-tech zone of Weifang is just one among 130 such zones in People’s Republic of China. “The level of sophistication and success of this tech zone can be used as a barometer to determine the level of economic development of china that is about to takeover USA as world’s biggest economy in next few decades,” a local Information Technology analyst told The Balochistan Point.

Developing countries like Pakistan can learn a lot from the experiences of China such as the Weifang High-tech Zone. “Federal government of Pakistan and its provincial governments can directly contact Weifang government and ask for cooperation in setting up similar high-tech zones at smaller-scale in different parts of Pakistan,” Ethisham Waheed, a Pakistani businessmen told The Balochistan Point.

Editorial: Too Little Too Late

2015-07-22T01:06:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

A delegation comprising of National Party (NP) leaders met Khan of Kalat in London last week. Khan of Kalat, Prince Suleman Dawood, heard them and politely refused to return to Balochistan on their request. This latest move by Dr. Malik Baloch and his party members is too little too late for solving the Balochistan conflict.

When Dr. Malik Baloch took power as Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan in June 2013, people had hopes that he would start dialogue with Baloch insurgents on emergency basis. Dr. Malik Baloch was considered a last hope for resolution of Balochistan problem. Apart from few rhetorical statements initially, Dr. Malik Baloch didn’t bother to take any practical steps to make any progress towards solving the Balochistan conflict.

There are several problems with the latest desperate move of NP-led government to bring Khan of Kalat to solve Balochistan conflict. First problem is that Khan of Kalat, despite his official position, doesn’t hold much power or influence among the Baloch insurgents who call the shots on ground. Position of Khan of Kalat since 1948 has only been a symbolic figurehead for erstwhile Kalat state. Therefore, believing that Khan of Kalat’s return to Balochistan will miraculously solve all problems of Balochistan is naïve.

Second problem is that so-called Baloch Jirga (delegation) that went to meet Khan of Kalat only comprised of NP Leaders namely; Nawab Mohammad Shahwani, Khalid Langau, Kabir Muhammad Shahi and Sardar Kamal Bangulzai. This changed the outlook of this delegation from representatives of Baloch to representatives of National Party. Ideally, tribal leaders from all political parties should have been made a part of this delegation. Alas, making ideal and wise decisions is not something that National Party is comfortable with.

Third issue is related to division in current government over how to approach this issue. NP delegation made one effort and Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, senior minister, made another parallel government. Due to their vested interests both NP and PML-N couldn’t even make a joint effort to persuade Khan of Kalat to return. That proves that both these parties prefer their petty political interests over the core issue of Balochistan.

Moreover, coming to the point that why NP did conducted this futile exercise? The only fathomable reason is that they want to use it to create a reason to remain in office after December this year. As per Murree accord signed between NP, PML-N and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) Dr. Malik Baloch will quit office of CM in favor of PML-N. By bringing Khan of Kalat back to Pakistan, NP desperately wanted to create a reason that it should continue to rule in Balochistan. Unfortunately, this move didn’t work and NP doesn’t have the excuse to remain in office even after December 2015.

Balochistan conflict is too complex to be solved by the return of a head of a former state of British era. Current Balochistan problems are a complicated mix of deprivation of last 68 years, role of tribal chieftains and allegedly involvement by foreign countries. In order to solve these problems, they need to be endorsed and accepted first.

After passing of 18th amendment of constitution of Pakistan and 7th NFC award, Balochistan has got substantial provincial autonomy although a lot is to be done. This means that the recently acquired provincial autonomy needs to be exercises in improving living standards of people of Balochistan. After 7th NFC, Balochistan has got 885 billion from federal receipts in last 6 years but it has failed to benefit common people. Bad governance, corruption and misplaced priorities of current NP government and former Raisani government have compounded sense of deprivation in Balochistan.

What needs to be done is that a multi-pronged strategy put in place to solve Balochistan issue. There are four parties to this conflict; Balochistan government, federal government, Baloch insurgents and security establishment. Until and unless all four of these parties show willingness to solve this problem on negotiation table there will not any solution.

Certain decisions in context of Balochistan are really difficult to take which are related to security matters. However, the easiest decisions in this context are under the provincial ambit. Provincial government of Balochistan needs to bring its house in order and do all that it’s necessary to improve living standards of common people of Balochistan. In first step rampant corruption prevalent at government and bureaucratic level needs to be completely eradicated.

Failed attempt by NP-delegation to persuade Khan of Kalat to return to Pakistan was nothing more than a face-saving tactic. This exercise baldy failed and further exposed the inability of Dr. Malik Baloch and his allies to tackle any issue successfully. In future, NP or any successive governments should avoid childish antics such as sending ministerial delegations to Khan of Kalat. Steps like these are only aimed at fooling people and not achieving any concrete results.

Quetta: Overcrowding, pollution and mismanagement have turned "Little Paris" into a dump

2015-07-17T00:14:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Nation

Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, was established as a military garrison by British raj. It was planned to accommodate 100,000 people. Today, almost 140 years after its establishment, Quetta is home to approximately 3 million people. Accommodating 30 times more people than its capacity has taken its toll on the city and a lot of municipal problems have surfaced. Compounding those problems is the gross mismanagement of successive provincial governments and incompetent bureaucrats.

Quetta is not only the capital city but also the only metropolitan city of Balochistan. People from all 31 districts of the province live in Quetta because it’s the only city where living standards are comparatively better as compared to other districts. This means that problems in Quetta affect the people of Balochistan as a whole.

The capital of Balochistan faces a plethora of problems, the most serious of which is water shortage. Due to a lack of planning and unchecked increases in tube wells, the water table in Quetta has fallen. Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) - the body which supplies water to the city - struggles to supply water to even a small portion of the city. A majority of Quetta's residents have no option but to avail the services of the water tanker mafia to get water for their daily usage. According to experts, problems of water shortage will exacerbate in the future. Experts maintain that if no concrete action is taken then the people of Quetta might even be compelled to migrate due to water scarcity. Ever since the time of the government of Pervez Musharraf, funds have been allocated for increasing the water supply of Quetta. Unfortunately, a major chunk of those funds have ended up in the pockets of corrupt ministers and bureaucrats and the problem has remained unresolved.

Poorly managed traffic system is another problem in Quetta city. There is absolutely no system of traffic in the city. There is not a single traffic signal in the entire city and traffic jams are a common occurrence. The existing network of roads in Quetta can’t accommodate the increasing load of vehicles and there is no traffic engineering and planning department in the city. In the near future, it would be a herculean task for common residents of Quetta to even drive a few kilometers on the roads of Quetta. Adding to the problems is the construction of commercial plazas and hospitals in busy areas in complete violation of the building code and town planning rules. In short, traffic in Quetta city is a mess which will become messier in the next few years due to the apathy of those in charge.

Moreover, law and order is also a grave problem in Quetta city. Target killing of common people and policemen is a common part of life in the city. Incidents of robbery and snatching on gun point are increasing rapidly in the outskirts of the city. In response to these problems, the provincial government only performs lip service and Dr. Malik makes absurd claims that the security situation has improved. A recent childish step taken by the provincial government to control the security situation is to install barriers on all the major roads of the city. This is just one example that reflects the non-serious attitude of those calling shots in Quetta city.

There was a time when Quetta was called "Little Paris" due to its cleanliness, pleasant weather and scenic beauty. Today, thanks to gross mismanagement and unchecked urbanization and settlement of Afghan immigrants, Quetta is one of the most polluted cities of Pakistan. Heaps of garbage can be found in every nook and corner of the city. There is lack of a proper sanitation system in the city. Whenever there is a mild outpour of rain, the roads of Quetta start smelling like drains. Funds are allocated for cleaning the city and improvement of the sanitation system but what happens to those funds? No prizes for guessing.

Now, the obvious question that arises is who is responsible for turning Quetta city into a mess? The prime responsibility for this lies on the shoulders of Chief Minister Dr. Malik Baloch because he is the chief executive and every government officer ultimately reports to him. Apart from that, Dr. Malik Baloch and his allies have given minimum powers to the newly elected local governments and rendered them useless in solving the basic issues of Quetta. So, along with several other avenues, plight of Quetta city is yet another proud achievement of Dr. Malik and company.

The parliamentarians of the city, too, share the blame for the condition Quetta is in today. The city elects 6 members of provincial assembly and 2 members of national assembly. In addition to that, almost all the members of Balochistan assembly, Senators and MNAs from Balochistan, live in Quetta. Despite that, their contribution towards the resolution of the city's problems is almost equal to zero. These so-called representatives of the people belong to the privileged class and live in a reasonable degree of comfort and, hence, are not bothered about the problems faced by the common people of Quetta.

When it comes to solving the problems of Quetta in the near future, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The Chief Minister and his entourage live in peace and comfort of the red zone of Quetta. Apart from rhetoric, they have no concern whatsoever for the problems of Quetta citizens. This newly emerging elite class of Quetta is a major problem that the people of Balochistan need to get rid of, if they want to improve their standard of living.

Qingzhou: Muslim Populace Living Harmoniously With Han Community

2015-07-15T17:00:00.000+05:00

Courtesy: The Balochistan Point

Qingzhou – Not known to the watchful eyes of Global media, Muslim population in Qingzhou city of China is living in Peace and Harmony with Han community.

The common perception dominating mainstream media out of China is that Muslims are a suppressed community in China. During his visit to Qingzhou, reporter of The Balochsitan Point found this perception to be utterly wrong.

Qingzhou is part of Weifang prefecture in Shandong Province of China near Korean peninsula where a 20,000 strong Muslim population lives.

Muslims in Qingzhou live in South-Eastern rural areas and belong from the Hui community which is one of the recognized ethnic groups in China. Approximately, over 10 million Hui live in China and most of them are Chinese-speaking Muslims.

“Muslims first arrived in Qingzhou during the reign of Tang dynasty from 618 CE to 907 CE,” a resident of Qingzhou told The Balochsitan Point. “However they only started to establish stable communities in 13th and 14th century during the rule of Yuan dynasty,” He added.

Muslims have been inhabitants of Qingzhou for over 700 years and they are living peacefully and harmoniously with other communities such as Han, Man and Mongol, learnt The Balochsitan Point.

Inter-Marriages between Muslims and Han community are common in Qingzhou. “There are several families in Qingzhou where mother is Han and father is a Muslim and vice versa,” a resident of the city revealed to The Balochsitan Point.

Due to exemplary integration of Muslim community with Han and other communities the honor of “Model collective of ethic solidarity and progress of China” has been awarded to Qingzhou for 6 connectives times.

Muslims in Qingzhou enjoy a lot of liberties despite being an ethnic and religious minority. Muslims are allowed to produce and sell Halal food for their community. In fact, some Halal foods are very popular with other communities. Longsheng Cake, which has a history of over 200 years, has become a famous delight of Qingzhou.

The Balochsitan Point also found out that Muslim community of Qingzhou is free to acquire Islamic education from dedicated Islamic centers in Qingzhou city.

Story of Muslim community in Qingzhou is an example of how mistaken is the popular narrative about China in mainstream media, a local analyst told The Balochsitan Point.