Chaghi, an area that lies under the scorching sun with almost non-existent vegetation, caught investors' attention when it revealed its untapped assets: a massive copper and gold deposit worth $1–3 million. This resource has the potential to be a game-changer for Pakistan’s economy. Unfortunately, when the economic promises of Reko Diq are discussed in Islamabad briefings, they rarely stop to consider Baloch sentiments regarding this immense valuation. This absence of Baloch voice is the real crisis breeding under Baluchistan’s sand.

According to Frances Stewart, conflict is not birthed by poverty alone, but from inequalities within groups. Meaning groups residing within the same state feel themselves consistently deprived in political power, social services, and economic opportunity compared to other groups. Baluchistan is a classic case for this. Natural Gas discovered in Sui in 1952 lit the stoves of people residing in Lahore and Karachi decades before the Baloch who dwelled a few kilometers from the wellhead. Similarly, Irrespective of its strategic and monetary value, the Chaghi district –the home of Reko Diq –has no college or vocational institute, a hospital that can accommodate only two, and no X-ray facility. Moreover, only 6% of the population has access to clean drinking water. This is not a consequence of location. Rather, it is horizontal inequality created by........

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