The neighborhood of Islamabad, known locally as “Kohan Galaman”, is located on the outskirts of the city of Khash. It is the center for buying and selling drugs in this county and is a reflection of the state of cities in Sistan and Baluchestan province. In December 2013, Hossein Ali Shahriari, the representative of Zahedan’s conservative party in the Iranian parliament, stated that the unemployment rate in Sistan and Baluchestan province is 50%. If you spend a day or two in the neighborhood of Islamabad in Khash, for example between the Posteh roundabout and Pushtkuh road, you can claim that this rate is inaccurate and that 80% of the people in this area are unemployed.

When you are unemployed in Islamabad, what do you do? The drug market is saturated, selling gallons of petroleum products can be another solution, or you can go to the Afghan border for smuggling. There is another attractive market; portering. Age doesn’t matter, it depends on your physical strength, you can start from the age of ten, and depending on your supply, you can earn between 300,000 to 900,000 tomans per month. Fabric balls, second-hand items, car parts, clothing, etc., are more attractive goods for smuggling and higher income.

We can travel from the outskirts of the city of Khash to the outskirts of the Saravan county, to the village of Dezk. On 10 Ordibehesht of this year, media close to the government of Hassan Rouhani announced that Ashraf Sepahian, a 28-year-old woman with a master’s degree in public administration, has been elected as the village head of Dezk. Women reaching managerial positions in this region is a symbol of change, social change. This is not the only news related to Dezk, the dates of this region are also famous and delicious like the dates of other areas of Saravan county. Dezk also has a famous mosque. But the most famous of all are the nomads of this village, numbering 5,000. Dezk is not far from Saravan, and when you go to the city, you can see the nomads. Unemployment is also rampant in this region, and there are no illiterate or

Sistan and Baluchestan province has a population of about 3 million people. The population growth rate in recent years in this province has been around 3%, which is higher than the national average of Iran, which is 1.2%. This high population growth rate has caused challenges. The increase in population in Sistan and Baluchestan means an increase in the population of Sunnis, which is not something that the government of Iran is pleased with. The hidden agendas of the government to increase the population also stem from the competition to balance the population of Shia and Sunni.

The statistics of employed individuals in this province in 2011, according to official sources, was announced to be 757,000 people. Turan Sarabandi, the head of the Employment Secretariat of Sistan and Baluchestan, announced in April of this year that there are 386,000 employed individuals in this province, which is approximately half of the previous statistics. The government of Hassan Rouhani has also announced that it will create 36,000 jobs in this province this year. Do you think, assuming the government follows through on its promise, how many job opportunities will be available for unemployed youth in the neighborhoods of Hasanabad Khash or the village of Dezak Saravan?

Let’s visit a more modern place, the universities of Sistan and Baluchestan. In October 2012, a member of the Iranian Parliament announced that out of 457 faculty members in the universities of Sistan and Baluchestan, only 17 of them are Baluch. This story is not limited to universities, as it cannot be justified by arguments such as the government’s concern about scientific development, cultural invasion, Islamization of universities, etc. There are also smaller examples. In August 2013, another representative of the people of this province in the parliament, Mohammad Saeed Arabi, reported that out of a total of 41 people invited to the recruitment exams for the Chabahar port guard and security forces, only 2 of the applicants were accepted as natives.

If the criterion for employment status of natives is considered in university academic faculty, out of the promised 36,000 jobs, only 1339 native individuals will have the chance to be employed. However, if the employment criterion is applied in Chabahar county, this number will reach 1756 individuals.

It seems that for security reasons, the Islamic Republic has no interest in changing this process. They are increasingly distrustful of Sunnis and are concerned about the formation of local management networks for religious and political reasons.

At the same time, important economic opportunities such as smuggling goods and drugs, and the strong desire and control of military and security forces over Iran’s borders, make it justifiable from a sovereignty perspective that managerial control in this region is limited or handpicked by a few.

However, contrary to the current strictness in the field of executive management in the law enforcement and security sector, the Iranian government has shown a special interest in attracting local forces.

“Ali Ousati Hashemi, the governor of Sistan and Baluchestan, said last December, “A permit has been issued for the employment of one thousand native forces in the law enforcement agency, which has always been objected by some officials and people.” According to this government official, “A similar action will also be taken in the Revolutionary Guards, but it will be in a different form and based on specific regulations, as many native forces are currently collaborating with the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards.”

The policy of attracting civilian forces has been seriously pursued by the Sepah since 2009. The first phase of this plan began with the recruitment of Sunni soldiers who were not willing to serve in the military. In this regard, Sepah armed and recruited 5,500 individuals until 2012. In 2012, 300 individuals from the Sunni community also joined Sepah as official guards.

A significant part of the activities of the Sepah (Iranian Revolutionary Guard) in this area is supervised by the organization known as Basij-e Ashayeri (tribal mobilization). According to Sepah officials, currently 600,000 people in Sistan and Baluchestan have received Basij membership cards. Alongside these individuals, 90,000 members of security and military organizations are also active in this province.

These measures have been met with opposition from opposing groups. One of the armed groups opposing the government in the region, which has been heavily involved in the kidnapping and assassination of some members of the police, military, and security forces in recent years, declared in a statement last February that this is a new policy of the central government to use marginalized and indigenous citizens as tools to confront local opposition forces.

The experience of using native forces is not limited to Sistan and Baluchestan. The Islamic Republic has had similar experiences in Kurdistan, northern Iran, and Ahvaz; using and employing native forces to confront indigenous opponents and protesters.

Journalist