By Abdullah Khan

Copyright dawn

Balochistan records the weakest socio-eco-nomic indicators in Pakistan. As highlighted in the United Nations Development Programme’s Multidimensional Poverty Index Report, nearly 71 per cent of the province’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, the highest in the country.

Development outcomes in health, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene remain persistently poor, reflecting the province’s chronic underdevelopment and the urgent need for sustained policy attention. Poor management, especially Balochistan’s fiscal mismanagement, has perpetuated governance challenges, with inefficient fund allocation and under-utilisation hindering development despite increased federal transfers under the 7th National Finance Commission Award.

Balochistan has never seen full utilisation of funds in its history, except for the development budget 2024-25 when the province utilised 90pc of its funds. The federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP_ funds have unfortunately followed the same trend, wherein, historically, Balochistan has received approximately 8–10pc of the total federal PSDP allocations, often resulting in prolonged project timelines, slow releases and delayed completions.

Institutional incapacity, corruption and the province’s political economy, characterised by patronage-based politics and clientelism, have always hindered effective planning, timely execution of development initiatives and efficient service delivery.

If properly executed, the province’s digitalisation initiative could lead to increased transparency, data accessibility and resource management

In such a situation, Baloc-histan’s recent attempts at the digitisation of the system can be instrumental in putting the province on a path towards development and good governance.

Across the globe, digitisation of public administration has emerged as a foundation for enhancing efficiency, transparency, accountability and citizen-centric service delivery. Reco-nising this necessity, the Government of Balochistan has introduced the Digital Financial Management Information System, including the Finance GPT and E-Filing System. This initiative marks an attempt to transition towards digital governance along with the intent to reform.

Developed by the finance department under the Public Finance Management reforms, the initiative was formally launched by the Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti on September 16, 2025. This appears to be a potential positive step towards efficiency and regulation for development.

The initiative consists of e-filing and digital financial management aimed at streamlining financial systems and minimising bureaucratic delays and public oversight. The Finance GPT, obviously inspired by ChatGPT, is a take on the AI tool claimed to have been pioneered by the Balochistan government to understand and accordingly answer questions or prompts by individuals. The provincial public sector data, including human resources, budget, development projects and other related information, has been linked with the tool to provide a window for policymakers, officers and the common masses to seek any information they want.

This effort could be instrumental in minimising red tape bureaucracy and making civil servants accountable to the people. Above all, ease of business could become a reality for attracting investors to take part in Balochistan’s growth and development.

While the e-filing system, supported by the Finance GPT, represents a step toward e-governance, it will require continuous effort and time to fully mature; its potential to restructure governance and improve service delivery may be present, but unless decided effort is poured into the project, it may very well fall through.

However, if properly executed, the programme could display many benefits. By placing information directly in the hands of citizens, the initiative can foster greater public participation in policy formulation, budget processes, and accountability mechanisms. For policymakers, the system could become a powerful tool to collect data, conduct analysis, and make informed and evidence-based decisions in a province that otherwise suffers from a crippling lack of useable data.

In terms of monitoring and supervision, authorities could track human resource availability and performance in real time, identifying gaps and ensuring timely redressal. Furthermore, universities and research institutions could take advantage of this digital system to advance research, policy studies, and development initiatives.

The journey toward e-governance in Balochistan is not and will not be without hurdles. Scaling the system across all departments and down to the grassroots level will require overcoming deep-rooted inefficiencies, lack of capacity among lower-tier officials, resistance from segments of the civil bureaucracy and vested interest groups.

Added to this are intrinsic structural barriers such as the energy crisis and limited internet accessibility in the districts, which can slow down implementation. Addressing these challenges demands strong political will, administrative commitment, institutional strengthening, and continuous capacity building.

If pursued with consistency and determination, these reforms can transform Balochistan into a digitally enabled province where good governance, inclusive growth, and efficient service delivery can become a reality.

The writer is a provincial civil servant and public policy analyst based in Quetta (views expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect any organisation).

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 29th, 2025