DEVELOPMENT IN A CONFLICT ZONE: THE CASE OF BALOCHISTAN.

All over the world, internal conflicts have created challenges for development. Balochistan, one of the provinces of Pakistan, has been facing different forms of conflict leading to issues related to socio-economic development. This qualitative-descriptive research adopts a case-study design for investigating the challenges faced by development practitioners while implementing development projects in Baluchistan, and strategies adopted to overcome the challenges. Four cases that this research focuses on include: polio campaign in four districts of Balochistan, Balochistan Education Support Project (BEP) in three districts, the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas Project (RAHA) in two districts, and Construction of Turbat-Buleda Road in Kech district. The data collection tools are observations and in-depth interviews based on purposive sampling. It has been found that a dominance of local customs and religious beliefs, security problems, and lack of skilled labour are the main challenges inhibiting development which need to be dealt with by incorporating community based development, engagement with powerful actors, local approach and out-of-the-box solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]