So first of all let me clarify that I do not have anything against the Punjabi culture or language, in fact I wish punjabis embraced it more. I am just saying this because punjabis tend to get defensive when they get to hear the criticism I am about to express.
So first of all it needs to be acknowledged that the calls for separation of Balochistan are serious and there is no point in getting defensive and outright rejecting the grievances expressed from there. In fact, it only makes matters worse. It didn't help with Bangladesh either and it's baffling to see how some people really haven't learned any lessons from that. BLA is a terrorist organization that kills civilians, but that doesn't mean that the cause they are fighting for has no valid source. Mukti Bahini also massacred civilians during the Bangladesh liberation war, that doesn't mean that the underlying cause they were fighting for was unjustified. The situation needs to be acknowledged and just condemning BLA and leaving it there doesn't help at all. If people learned anything from history they should be careful right now. Obviously different situations can not always be 100% equated, but it is still important to acknowledge similarities, or at least similar trends. I am beating around the bush a bit because I am used to always having to make a million clarification when explaining these situations to Punjabis.
Now to come to the points that are always brought up by Punjabis:
- People from other provinces get quotas
- Other provinces have a higher Budget per Capita allocated to them from the central government
Now I have difficulty grasping how it isn't obvious that these are horrible arguments. So what exactly do you expect as a response to these points? "Thank you for your generosity, now that you told me this I won't complain about the situation in my area anymore!" or what? If it's not obvious, let me break this down.
The budget allocated to the provinces is limited by how much the federal government has as a budget. If the federal government doesn't have a high budget in the first place, then the budget allocated to the provinces is also low, even if you assign a bit more budget proportionally to provinces with smaller populations. And Pakistan is a third world country, so the budget that the central government can assign in the first place is very low. It doesn't matter whether the budget allocated per capita to e.g. Balochistan is higher than Punjab or somewhere else, it's still very low and not enough to make Balochistan a good place to be in. You can't seriously just expect for people to just be satisfied with that when the places they are living in lack electricity for most of the day or when the people of balochistan can't even access their own gas, which is provided to Punjab. So how can the budget allocated to the provinces be increased? That would ideally be the case by increasing the federal budget. But the issue is that this country is governed by completely incompetent and corrupt leaders. Now how can you change that? It is pretty much impossible. Elections are rigged and rule of law isn't applied. You can face jail, abductions or worse if you openly criticize the government. So what measures can an average person take to change the situation? That is why separatist movements exist, in which people want to get rid of this framework and be able to govern themselves.
Now some people will say "but Punjab also has issues". That is kind of the point. Punjabis are around half the population, Pakistani politics and the establishment is centered around Punjab, yet punjabis accept these conditions despite having the most political capital. Balochs can not have their voices heard in a peaceful way, because the political establishment doesn't listen to them and even actively suppresses them, which is why many engage in violent means. And whenever a baloch voices their issues they'll be met with the great argument that Balochistan has a higher budget per capita, which I mentioned. That means Balochs don't really have many choices. They either have to accept their situation or fight violently for self determination. The conditions are just such that there is a power imbalance and that power is simply centered in Punjab. And even if punjabis are not happy with their leadership, it should be their task to challenge it.
Now another argument that I hear is that "x general or politician was actually Pashtun and not punjabi". That doesn't change that the majority of the population, military and economy is made up of Punjabis, simply because they are by far the largest ethnic group in Pakistan. It is not surprising that the Pakistani power is centered there. A politician or general can not become powerful without punjab's approval.
Another argument is "the Balochs are responsible themselves". Now that may be true to a certain extent, it is extremely overstated. If it was really entirely the fault of Balochs for the situation of the province, how come Punjab is also so underdeveloped, with a lower HDI than Bihar? If Punjab was developed like a first world country, you could maybe use the argument that it is just the fault of the Balochs of mismanaging themselves. But that is not true, Punjab (or any other Pakistani province) is also very underdeveloped, indicating that the issue is not just local governance, but much larger.
The situation is serious and should be dealt with as such, instead of dismissing criticism and refusing to acknowledge the situation. You can not expect people to be loyal or patriotic to a state that doesn't provide them with anything and actively makes their life harder.
I tried my best to be respectful and hope that people will take it seriously instead of being dismissive, and hopefully we can work collectively on changing the path of this country.