Tilak Davesher’s book “Pakistan: The Balochistan Conundrum” discusses on Balochistan and the failure of Pakistan’s polices and several more which are related to Pakistan and Balochistan.
The book comprises of six sections with eighteen chapters. The title ‘Conundrum’ means “Something confusing or difficult problems”. The section of the book sheds deep light on the culture of Balochistan, religions, geography and history of Balochistan.
The rest chapters keenly put a gossip on human rights, resources of Balochistan, Gwadar, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, political domains of Balochistan and abducted people from Balochistan.
The human rights or basic prerequisites of Balochistan are deprived as he says that from that day until present, the region is deprived of every sort of fundamentals of life. Balochistan, indeed, is blessed with natural resources such as gold, marble, oil, coil, gas and many others. Dishearteningly, its own people are away to acquire them and is kept aside from all those resources.
Further, the author put a glance over CPEC and its effects over Baloch people. As he elaborates that CPEC is a project in Gwadar, Balochistan, which is, instead of providing benefits to the people of Gwadar and Balochistan, is only giving cons and nothing else. And many regions in Gwadar are being occupied for Chinese to stay there.
Whisking or abducting people from Balochistan, according to the author Tilak Davesher, is a common practice which is deeply rooted in the Pakistan’s province after 2000. The proportion of missing persons is going straight away and some of them return home within some days, weeks, months and years, but some unluckily go missing for decades. Neither print media is giving attention to the issues of Balochistan nor the electric media. The issues remain constant with no solution.
The history of Balochistan is resembling as of the book till now as well. Baloch people are still going through tensions from decades. In fact, their concerns are increasing year after year following the present change in state policies towards the ‘overlooked’ province.
The author, Tilak, said, “I have visited Balochistan in 2012 to 2015 and in that time, the circumstances of Balochistan were so tough to live or spend time there. Because everyone, I observed, faced various problems which were enhancing,” he added. “Everyday killing, abducting, raids and so forth are continuously taking pace in Balochistan.”
Thus, this book fills the readers’ minds with unalike information regarding Balochistan and its people. I found it very informative and a heart-shaking book in my life ever. This, in simple words, resembles Balochistan’s grievances in terms.
