From The Periphery to the Center: What People at Our Margins Endure

10

October 2025

Executive Summary

The South Asia Times (SAT) hosted a national webinar titled “From the Periphery to the Center: What People at Our Margins Endure,” spotlighting how Pakistan’s border regions, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, face deep-rooted governance challenges, economic neglect, and communication voids. Experts called for shifting from a security-centric to an inclusion-driven policy model to rebuild trust, empower youth, and turn Pakistan’s peripheries into engines of national resilience. South Asia Times (SAT) hosted a webinar titled “From the Periphery to the Center: What People at Our Margins Endure.” The session brought together scholars and practitioners from Pakistan’s peripheral regions, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), to explore how structural inequalities, governance gaps, and communication voids have contributed to persistent alienation from the state. Welcoming remarks by Mr. Usama Khan, Director of SAT and moderator of the session, framed the discussion within Pakistan’s larger political discourse, which remains dominated by central narratives. He stressed that genuine national cohesion demands that the “voices from the margins” be brought to the policy table, not treated as peripheral or security-linked challenges. The dialogue sought not only to identify grievances but also to outline frameworks for inclusion, trust-building, and participatory governance.

Key Takeaways

Bridging the Trust Deficit:
Marginalized regions are alienated not by identity but by inattention. Persistent communication voids between the state and its citizens have allowed external and ethno-nationalist actors to distort local grievances, deepening mistrust.
Governance Gaps and Representation:
Unequal policy focus, weak local governance, and over-centralized decision-making have left peripheral communities politically voiceless and economically excluded.
Security vs. Civil Empowerment:
A heavy security footprint in regions like KP and Balochistan has created resentment, while rushed reforms (such as the FATA merger) and recurring militant threats have further strained public confidence in institutions.
Socio-Economic Inclusion:
Development projects, including CPEC, have failed to deliver proportionate benefits to local populations. Inclusive, locally driven models, such as Special Economic Zones and community-based trade systems, were identified as essential for sustainable development.
Youth and Digital Mobilization:
Across AJK and GB, youth-led mobilization has become a potent force. However, panelists cautioned that without transparent governance and sustained engagement, such movements risk disillusionment or manipulation.
Communication as Conflict Prevention:
Transparent, timely communication can prevent unrest from escalating into violence. Recent protests in AJK and GB were cited as examples where mismanagement and silence cost lives.

Discussion Summary

Mr. Usama Khan, Director of SAT, opened the session by emphasizing the importance of re-centering Pakistan’s peripheries in national dialogue. He underscored that the objective was not to catalogue grievances but to identify shared pathways toward justice, inclusion, and reconciliation.

Mr. Tahmeed Jan, Executive Director of IRCRA and representative from KP and erstwhile FATA, detailed how renewed militant violence, poor reform implementation, and security-heavy governance have left locals trapped between extremists and the state. “People face impossible choices,” he remarked, “coerced by militants at night, then branded collaborators by morning.” He urged that reforms must prioritize public trust and consistent communication between state and society.

Dr. Dost Muhammad Barrech, Associate Lecturer at the University of Balochistan, called Balochistan “mini-Pakistan”, a province that mirrors both the country’s challenges and its potential. He noted that despite holding 70% of Pakistan’s minerals and a 750 km coastline, Balochistan remains impoverished. Only $860 million of the $28 billion CPEC investments have reached the province, deepening perceptions of neglect. He proposed transitioning from a geo-political to a geo-economic mindset, leveraging local strengths in fisheries, mining, and agriculture.

Ms. Farzana Yaqoob, former MLA representing AJK, reflected on the region’s recent violent protests led by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). She noted that while the grievances were legitimate, rooted in inflation, misgovernance, and lack of communication, poor state response turned dissent into disaster. “Thirty-six out of thirty-eight demands were later accepted,” she stated, “but lives were lost because no one issued a single written response.” She stressed that protesters are not adversaries, but citizens seeking accountability.

Mr. Deedar Karim, PhD Scholar at Fudan University, China, and representative from GB, highlighted how constitutional ambiguity continues to alienate the people of GB. With no representation in Pakistan’s National Assembly or Senate, citizens feel voiceless. “Protest has become our only language,” he observed. He urged institutional reforms, long-term administrative engagement, and fair reinvestment of local revenues to replace protest culture with participatory governance

Closing Notes

The webinar reasserted that Pakistan’s unity cannot rest on political centralization but on empathetic inclusion. By moving from crisis management to context understanding, Pakistan can transform its peripheries from zones of grievance into centers of national strength.

South Asia Times