Pakistan, Oct. 8 -- Balochistan rarely reaches an international stage for the right reasons. Too often, the province enters the outside world's conversation through insurgency, deprivation, political grievance or another reminder of the distance between Quetta and Islamabad. That is why its appearance at the DHIS2 Asia-Pacific Conference in Colombo deserves attention. Not because another minister travelled abroad, but because Balochistan was being discussed for something Pakistan's least-developed province is rarely associated with: administrative innovation.

Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar attended the opening ceremony as Guest of Honour, representing Pakistan before participants from 26 countries. The gathering brought together go...