Of course, doctors and paramedical staff battling the Corona virus worldwide are playing the role of the front line. The way they provide their services to fight this virus is commendable. These views were expressed in a statement issued by a social activist, Hamida Noor.
Hamida Noor says “states around the world have strengthened the health sector to fight the Corona virus while in Balochistan, lives of all people are being put at risk, the consequences of which will prove very dangerous”.
She added that “Isolation centers should be set up according to global protocols, ventilators that were already inadequate for entire Balochistan, should be provided more to cope with this inevitable outbreak and (PPE) Personal Protective Equipment should be provided according to the World Health Organization”.
Social activist further said that the government should provide doctors with protective kits for the time being served in Balochistan because their lives are also a valuable asset, but perhaps the lives of the people of Balochistan don’t matter for the state.
According to reports, there is not a single scanner to diagnose the Corona virus at two main hospitals of district Kalat, the DHQ Hospital and Prince Agha Abdul Karim Hospital.
Kalat’s public circles have said that Iranian oil traders from Panjgur can cause the spread of the virus in Kalat and they continue to come to the city and other areas whose scanning is very important. Locals have appealed to the provincial government to provide scanners for the hospitals.
A student leader, Chairman of BSO blames the government for the spread of the Covid-19 in Balochistan.
Nazir Baloch says, “Corona virus spreads alarmingly due to incompetence of Balochistan government.”
Whereas, a Baloch militant leader and head of the Balochistan Liberation Front, Dr Allah Nazar Baloch has appealed to the Baloch people, saying that they should be confined to their homes so that they can avoid the outbreak. If this epidemic has become a widespread situation in Balochistan, it will be difficult to control it as all basic needs of life including medical facilities are lacking in Balochistan.
Dr Allah Nazar said, “Even in this modern age, people of Balochistan lose their lives due to malaria and other treatable diseases. This situation is nothing new or unique to a slave nation and colony, because the history of occupation tells us that only resources of an occupied land are important, not the people.
“For seventy years the occupation has robbed Balochistan of its wealth and the heirs of the land have got nothing but oppression, poverty and humiliation”, he added.
Balochistan is a land of rich natural resources but deprived of many basic facilities of life, such as medical, education and basic human rights. Baloch nationalists claim that Balochistan is occupied by Pakistan and Iran and they are striving to regain their independence. The conflict between Baloch nationalist and Pakistani state has resulted in 5 big insurgencies in the region and thousands dead and forcefully disappeared.