The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) has launched a “Balochistan Library Campaign” to demand the establishment of new libraries, the restoration of closed and inactive libraries, and the provision of basic facilities in existing public libraries across Balochistan.
In a statement issued to the media, the BSAC spokesperson said the deteriorating state of education in Balochistan had remained a persistent crisis, with the literacy rate still not rising beyond 40 percent and a large number of children out of school in several areas.
The spokesperson said many students who try to continue their education despite the closure of schools and the lack of facilities in colleges depend on libraries to meet their educational needs. However, the statement said libraries across Balochistan had either been shut, left inactive or deprived of basic services.
“Government neglect and the mismanagement and irregularities of district administrations have brought these libraries to the brink of destruction,” the spokesperson said.
The BSAC said libraries were already scarce in Balochistan, with many areas having no library buildings at all. It said several public libraries established in recent years had later been closed after incidents of theft and vandalism, citing Mastung and Kalat as examples.
The organisation alleged that the repeated closure and neglect of libraries reflected a “deliberate conspiracy” to deprive Baloch students of educational facilities, adding that no suspects had been arrested in connection with the incidents of theft and vandalism.
The statement also cited Naseerabad Public Library, saying it had remained closed for several months and lacked seating arrangements, electricity and fans. In an extremely hot area such as Naseerabad, the BSAC said, the absence of these facilities amounted to effectively closing the library.
In Kharan, the organisation said, the only library in the district consists of a single room and lacks proper seating, electricity and other basic facilities. Female students, it said, are forced to study in a small corner of the same room, despite a separate library building having been approved for them.
The organisation also raised concern over libraries in Baloch areas of Karachi, particularly Lyari, Lea Market and Malir, saying they had either been closed or converted into community halls and boxing clubs.
The statement described the closure of libraries, the failure to restore inactive facilities and the lack of basic services in existing libraries as “hostility toward education”.
It said the “Balochistan Library Campaign” would press the government to take immediate steps to restore closed libraries, activate inactive ones and provide facilities for students.