The Palaeolithic Baluchistan
# Sunil Satyam
The glorious history of Baluchistan is dated back
to the centuries before Christ . The great civilization of Indus (The Sindhu
valley) flourished in the laps of Baluchistan and Sindh state of today's
Pakistan. Mehargarh and makaran Coast was very famous areas of the
civilization. Mehargarh was the first historical site of the world which
witnessed the signs of proto-urbanization. First archaeological remains of
cultivation are found from here.
The region of Baluchistan has its history
rooted in the Palaeolithic age. In Indian subcontinent Palaeolithic age is
considered between 20,00,000 years back from the centuries of A.D..In this age
tool technology was witnessing gay by day improvements. In this age Chert,
quartzite and Besalts were the main raw material for making tools. In Baluchistan,
Lower Palaeolithic tools have been found
in Lasbella, Bugti hills and North-western foothill areas. Hand axes have been
found in Zearatpir area of Baluchistan. In Lower Palaeolithic period flaked
tools have been found from various sites of this region i.e Sanghao cave,
Chachan Baloch (near Sindh) The Palaeolithic Aror hill of Rohri is an amazing wonder stratified
thousands of years ago. The shape of Aror hill also resembles with a rock in
France that has been formulated by the massive movements of ocean waves. A
shrine is also constructed on the right top of Arore hill. The Arore hill of
Rohri is one of the most distinct Paleolithic site in the Rohri Hills which is
located near the village of Chancha Baloch . This site is also only is only a
few kilometres away from the pre-Harappan settlement of Kot Diji.
There are also some other ruins of
the Palaeolithic archaeological remains which have been destroyed
almost. This amazing site is poorly neglected by the local authorities. Many
ancient structures have been destroyed already like Seeraj which was a Buddhist stupa and was situated very near to the
Arore hill. A very rapid deterioration has occurred in the past two decades. An
immediate action plan is required from the Government of Sindh to safeguard the Palaeolithic wonders of this area.
The early Pre-Harappan agricultural
settlements were developed during 7000 B.C. Rehaman Dheri in Northern Baluchistan,
developed as an urbanised settlement with planned roads and houses. This place
was located in the west parallel to Harappa. Thus Baluchistan settlements gave
birth to the Great Pre and matured Harappan civilization.
The father of history, Greek historian Herodotus (650
BCE) described the Paraitakenoiist. as a tribe ruled by Deiokes, a Persian zaid, in
north-western Persia . The contemporary Historian of
Alexender, Arrian give detailed accounts of Alexander's invasion on Pareitakai in Bactria and Sogdiana, and had Craterus conquer them
(Anabasis Alexandrou IV). The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (an historical account of an unknown traveller) in the 1st century give details of the Makaran Coast of Baluchistan ,and the Paradon beyond the Ommanitic region on the coast
of modern Baluchistan.
The earliest evidence of human
occupation in Baluchistan is dated back to the Palaeolithic era. Archaeologists found various Palaeolithic tools from sites of Baluchistan i.e. chipped and flaked stone
tools. Mehargarh situated in Kachi Plains. was the earliest settled villages in the region date to the ceramic
Neolithic (c. 7000–6000 BCE). These villages expanded in
size during the subsequent Chalcolithic, when interaction increased. This
involved the movement of finished goods and raw materials, including lazuli, chank
shell,lapis, turquoise, and ceramics. By the
Bronze Age in 2500 BCE, Baluchistan had become part of the Harappan cultural
orbit, providing key resources to the expansive settlements of the Indus river
basin to the east. Baluchistan marked the western most extent of the Indus
Valley civilization.
From
the 1st century to the 3rd century CE, the region of modern Baluchistan was
ruled by the Pāratarājas, the
"Pātatahaa Kings", a dynasty of Indo-Scythian or Indo-Parthian kings.
The Parata kings are essentially known through their coins, which typically
exhibit the bust of the ruler with long hair in a headband on the obverse and
a swastika within
a circular legend on the reverse, written in Brahmi, usually silver coins, or Kharoshthi copper coins.These coins
are mainly found in Loralai in today's
western Pakistan.
The
invasions of Genghis
Khan into Bampoor caused the bulk of Baloch
migrations and the Balochs were given refuge in the greater Sindh
region. Later infighting between Balochs resulted in clans led by sardars,
which claimed regions within Sindh. In an effort to gain total control of the
regions, the British named the area Balochistan and got the support of the
Baloch Sardars who then were titled Nawabs.
These Nawabs were to keep minor Baloch, Pathan and other factions in check. For
the last 150 years the region has seen continual fighting to gain access to
natural resources in an otherwise barren land.Iranian Baluchistan had some of
the earliest human civilizations in history. The Burnt city near Dozaap (Zahidan) dates to 2000 BCE. All of what is
now Baluchistan was incorporated in the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid empires.
There
were five major kings in the 2nd century; Yolamira, son of Bagavera, Arjuna,
son of Yolamira, Hvaramira, another son of Yolamira, Mirahvara, son of
Hvaramira, and Miratakhma, another son of Hvaramira
The Islamic Invasion on Balochistan
Before the advent of Islam whole central Asia was dominated by Hindus and Buddhists. Arab forces invaded Baluchistan in
the 7th century, converting the Baloch
people to
Islam. Arab rule in Baluchistan helped
the Baloch people to develop their own semi-independent tribal systems, which
stronger forces frequently threatened. In the 17th century, Baluchistan was
dominated by Ahmedzai Baloch tribe of Kalat region, which ruled Baluchistan
from 1666-1948). In the 14th year of the Hijra, 636-6CE, Rai Chach marched from
Sindh and conquered Makran. However, in 643 the Arabs reached Makran. In
early 644 CE, Caliph Umar sent Suhail ibn Adi from Bosra to
conquer the Karman region of Iran. He was made governor of Karman. From Karman
he entered western Baluchistan and conquered the region near Persian frontiers. South western
Baluchistan was conquered during the campaign in Sistan that same year.
During
Caliph Uthman's reign in 652, Baluchistan was
reconquered during the campaign against the revolt in Karman under the command
of Majasha ibn Masood. It was first time western Baluchistan came directly
under the laws of the Caliphate and paid grain
tributes. Western Baluchistan was included in the dominion of Karman. In
654, Abdulrehman ibn Samrah was made governor of Sistan. He led an Islamic army
to crush the revolt in Zarang, now in southern Afghanistan. Conquering Zarang,
a column moved northward to conquer areas up to Kabuland Ghazni in the Hindu Kush mountains while
another column moved towards northwestern Baluchistan and conquered
the area up to the ancient cities of Dawar and Qandabil (Bolan).By
654 the whole of what is now Pakistan's Baluchistan province was under the rule
of the Rashidun Caliphate except
for the well-defended mountain town of QaiQan, which was conquered during Caliph
Ali's reign. Abdulrehman ibn Samrah made Zaranj his provincial capital and
remained governor of these conquered areas from 654 to 656, until Uthman was
murdered. During the Caliphate of Ali, the areas of
Balochistan, Makran again broke into revolt. Due to civil war in the Islamic
empire Ali was unable to take notice of these areas, at last in the year 660 he
sent a large force under the command of Haris ibn Marah Abdi towards Makran,
Baluchistan and Sindh. Haris ibn Marah Abdi arrived in
Makran and conquered it by force then moved north ward to northeastern
Balochistan and re-conquered Qandabil (Bolan), then again
moving south finally conquered Kalat after a fierce battle. In 663 CE,
during the reign of Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I, Muslims lost control of
northeastern Balochistan and Kalat when Haris ibn Marah and large part of his
army died on the battle field suppressing a revolt in Kalat. Muslim forces
latter re-gained the control of the area during Umayyads' reign. It also
remained part of Abbasid Caliphate's empire.
Arab
rule in Balochistan lasted until the end of the 10th century. The parts of Baluchistan
best known to them were Turan (the Jhalawan country) with its capital at
Khuzdar, and Nudha or Budha (Kachhi). Around 976, Ibn Haukal found an Arab
governor residing in Kaikanan (probably the modern Nal) and governing Khuzdar during
his second visit to India.
Shortly afterwards, western Baluchistan
fell to Nasir-ud-din Sabuktagin. His son, Mahmud of
Ghazni,
conquered the whole of Baluchistan. After the Ghaznavids, the area passed to the Ghurids. A little later, western Baluchistan,
Iranian Baluchistan, became part of the dominion of Sultan Muhammad Khan
of Khwarazmian (Khiva) in 1219. However,
in around 1223 a Mongol expedition under Chagatai, the son of Genghis Khan,
penetrated as far as Makran. A few years later, southeastern Baluchistan
briefly came under the rule of Sultan Altamsh of Delhi but soon came back under
Mongol rule. The raids organised by the Mongols have left a lasting mark on
history of Baluchistan, from Makran to Gomal the Mongol (known to the people as
Mughal) and the atrocities they caused are still well known.
Afterwards
part of the history of Balochistan centres around Kandahar and it was in this
area in 1398 that Pir Muhammad, the grandson of Timur,
fought the Afghans in the Sulaiman mountains. According to local tradition
Timur himself passed through Marri country during one of his Indian
expeditions.
The
succeeding century is one of great historical interest. The Pakistani Baloch
extended their power to Kalat, Kachhi, and the Punjab, and the wars took place
between Mir Chakar Khan Rind and Mir Gwahram Khan Lashari which
are so celebrated in Baloch verse. In these wars a prominent part was played by
Amir Zunnun Beg, Arghun, who was governor of Kandahar under Sultan Husain
Mirza of Herat about 1470. At the same time the Brahuis had been gradually gaining
strength, and their little principality at this time extended through the
Jhalawan country to Wadh.
The Arghuns gave
way to Babur shortly afterwards.
From 1556 to 1595 the region was under the Safavid dynasty. The army of Akbar the Great then
brought what is now Pakistani Balochistan under control of the Mughals of Delhi
until 1638, when it was again transferred to Persia.
According
to the Ain-i-Akbari, in 1590 the upper
highlands were included in the sardar of Kandahar while Kachhi was part of the
Bhakkar sardar of the Multan Subah. Makran alone remained independent under the
Maliks, Buledais, and Gichkis, until Nasir Khan I of Kalat brought it within
his power during the 17th century.
From
the middle of the 17th century large parts of Baluchistan remained under
the Safavids until the rise of the Ghilzai in 1708. Nadir Shah defeated Ghilzai and
in the first part of the 18th century, he made several expeditions to, or
through, Baluchistan. Ahmad Shah Durrani followed.
The northeastern part of the country, including almost all of the areas now
under direct administration, remained under the more or less nominal suzerainty
of the Sadozais and Barakzais until 1879, when Pishin, Duki, and Sibi passed
into British hands by the Treaty of Gandamak. The whole of Western Baluchistan
had been consolidated into an organized state under the Ahmadzai Khans.
As
Muslim dynasties held Baluchistan from about the 7th century, we must look to
an earlier period for the date of the Sewas; and it is not improbable that they
were connected with the Rai dynasty of Sind, whose genealogical table includes
two rulers named Sihras. The Mirwaris, from whom the Ahmadzais are descended.
In their earlier legends we find them living at Surab near Kalat, and extending
their power thence in wars with the Jats or Jadgals. They then fell under the
power of the Mongols; but one of their chiefs, Mir Hasan, regained the capital
from the Mongol governor, and he and his successors held Kalat for twelve
generations till the rise of Mir Ahmad in 1666-7. It is from
Mir Ahmad that the eponym Ahmadzai is derived.
Britain and Iran divided Baluchistan into
many parts. In the 19th century, nationalists in western Baluchistan revolted
against the Persian occupation. At the end of 19th century, when Sardar Hussein Narui Baloch started an
uprising against Persia which was crushed by
joint Anglo-Persian mission forces. The
struggle between the Persian
Qajar dynasty,
and the British in eastern Baluchistan,
gave western Baluchis a chance
to gain control of their territory in Western Baluchistan.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Bahram Khansucceeded in gaining control of
Baluch- lands. In 1916, the British
empire recognized
him king of Baluchistan. Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baluch, Bahram Khan's nephew, succeeded to the throne,
and in 1920, he proclaimed himself Shah-e-Baluchistan (Persian for
King of Baluchistan) but in 1928, Reza Shah came into power
and Persian forces started
operations against Baluchi forces
with the help of British. The Baluch were defeated and Mir Dost
Muhammad Khan Baluch captured. In the same year, Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baluch
was executed in a Tehran prison. Baluchis were
not content with the British, and raised their voices against the occupation
of Western Baluchistan by
Persia at Baluch Conference of Jacobabad.
The Kalat State
The
Khans of Kalat, who lived in modern-day Pakistan Balochistan, were the rulers
of Kalat. They were never fully independent, there was always a paramount power
to whom they were subject. In the earliest times they were merely petty chiefs:
later they bowed to the orders of the Mughal emperors of Delhi and to the rulers of
Kandahar, and suppliedmen-at-arms on demand. Most
peremptory orders from the Afghan rulers to their vassals of Kalat are still
extant, and the predominance of the Sadozais and Barakzais was acknowledged so late as
1838. It was not until the time of Nasir Khan I that
the titles of Beglar Begi (Chief of Chiefs) and Wali-i-Kalat (Governor of
Kalat) were conferred on the Kalat ruler by the Afghan kings.
As
Mughal power declined, the Ahmadzai chiefs found themselves freed to some
degree from external interference. The first challenge to the chiefs was insuring
Balochistani social cohesion and cooperation within the loose tribal
organization of the state. They parceled out a portion of the spoils of all
conquests among the poverty-stricken highlanders. Everyone had a vested
interest in the success of the Baloch community as a whole. A period of
expansion then commenced. Mir Ahmad made successive descents into the plains of
Sibi. Mir Samandar extended his raids to Zhob, Bori, and Thal-Chotiali. He
levied an annual sum of Rs. 40,000 from the Kalhoras of Sindh.
Mir
Abdullah, the greatest conqueror of the dynasty, turned his attention westward
to Makran, while in the north-east he captured Pishin and Shorawak from the
Ghilzai rulers of Kandahar. He was eventually slain in a fight with the
Kalhoras at Jandrihar near Sanni in Kachhi.
During
the reign of Mir Abdullah's successor, Mir Muhabbat, Nadir Shah rose to power and the
Ahmadzai ruler obtained through him the cession of Kachhi in 1740 in compensation
for the blood of Mir Abdullah and the men who had fallen with him. The Brahuis
had now gained what highlanders always coveted, good cultivable lands. By the
wisdom of Muhabbat Khan and of his brother Nasir Khan, certain tracts were
distributed among the tribesmen on the condition of finding so many men-at-arms
for the Khan's body of irregular troops. At the same time much of the
revenue-paying land was retained by the Khan for himself.
The
forty-four years of the rule of Nasir Khan I, known to the Brahuis as 'The
Great,' and the hero of their history, were years of strenuous administration
and organization interspersed with military expeditions. He accompanied Ahmad
Shah in his expeditions to Persia and India, while at home he was continuously
engaged in the reduction of Makran, and, after nine expeditions to that
country, he obtained from the Gichkis the right to the collection of half the
revenues. A wise and able administrator, Nasir Khan was distinguished for his
prudence, activity, and enterprise. He was essentially a warrior and a
conqueror, and his spare time was spent in hunting. At the same time he was
most attentive to religion, and enjoined on his people strict attention to the
precepts of Islamic law. His reign was free from those internecine conflicts,
subsequently common in Kalat's history.
The
reign of Nasir Khan's successor, Mir Mahmud Khan, was distinguished by little
except revolts. In 1810 Henry Pottinger visited his capital
and left a full record of his experience. The reign of Mir Mehrab Khan was
one long struggle with his chiefs, many of whom he murdered. He became dependent
on men of the stamp of Mulla Muhammad Hasan and Saiyid Muhammad Sharif, by
whose treachery, at the beginning of the first Afghan War, Sir William Macnaghten and
Sir Alexander
Burnes were
deceived into thinking that Mehrab Khan was a traitor to the British; that he
had induced the tribes to oppose the advance of the British army through the
Bolan Pass; and that finally, when Sir Alexander Burnes was returning from a
mission to Kalat, he had caused a robbery to be committed on the party, in the
course of which an agreement, which had been executed between the envoy and the
Khan, was carried off. This view determined the diversion of Sir Thomas
Willshire's brigade from Quetta to attack Kalat in 1839, an act which has been
described by Malleson as 'more than a grave error, a crime. The place was taken
by assault and Mehrab Khan was slain.
British conquest of Eastern Baluchistan
The
British gradually became involved in Baluchistan during the reign of Mir Mehrab
Khan whose reign was characterised by the power struggle he had with the chief,
many of whom he had murdered. Mehrab Khan had become dependent on Mulla
Muhammad Hasan and Saiyid Muhammad Sharif. And it was these men who had
convinced the British that he had encouraged the tribes to oppose the British
advance through the Bolan pass. The British justified their 1839 attack of
Kalat on this, and had had Mehrab Khan killed, his successor — Mir Shah Nawaz Khan was
then appointed with Lieutenant Loveday as political officer. However a
rebellion of the Sarawan tribes the following year force Shah Nawaz to
abdicate, his successor Mir Muhammad Hasan then took power and afterwards being
known as Mir Nasir
Khan II Under
pressure from Colonel Stacey, Mir Nasir Khan II submitted to the British,
and Major Outram had
him installed at Kalat in 1840.
Colonel
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman introduced
an innovative system of tribal pacification in Balochistan that was in effect
from 1877 to 1947. However the Government of India generally oppose his methods
and refused to allow it to operate in India's North West
Frontier.
Historians have long debated its scope and effectiveness in the peaceful spread
of Imperial influence.
Pakistan’s invasion of 1948
Not many people know that Baluchistan was not a
part of Pakistan in 1947; And that it was invaded in 1948 by Pakistan who is
occupying it ever since without any international protests. Pakistan has
continued to commit genocide and loot the natural resources of this mineral
rich State.
The strategic importance of Baluchistan has had,
and still has, a positive and negative effect on Baluch nationalism.Its geopolitical importance threw this nation into historical catestroph. Because of its strategic location in the Perso-Oman Gulf, with 700 miles long seacoast,
the area has been important to the trade of the West since the rise of the
imperialism. Its strategic importance provides an opportunity to the Baluch
nationalists to deal with big or superpowers in order to liberate the country.
During the “Great Game”, the major reason for the occupation of Baluchistan by
British was to check the advance of the Russians towards the Baluch coast in
the Arabian Sea. During the two World Wars, Britain did not share the
occupation of Western Baluchistan with the Russians because of the fear of
Russian access to warm waters. In 1928, Britain refuse to recognize the regime
of Mir Dost Mohammad Baranzai in Western Baluchistan. because he was alleged to
be in contact with the Soviets. In 1944, General Money, after studying the
constitutional position of Baluchistan, favoured its independence. In 1947,
Britain opposed the independence of Baluchistan and urged Pakistan to occupy
Baluchistan in order to crush the nationalists and anti-imperialist or
pro-Soviet forces
The
incorporation of the Khanate resulted in a few anti-Pakistani rallies and
meetings in certain areas of the Khanate. To subdue anti-Pakistani sentiment,
the Army of Pakistan was placed on alert. The Government of Pakistan decided to
take complete control of the administration of the Khanate of Kalat on April
15, [1948. The Agent to the Governor General (A.G.G.) in Kalat conveyed
Jinnah's orders that the Khanate would revert to its previous status as it had
existed under British rule. In April 1948, several political leaders from
Kalat, including Mohammad
Amin Khosa and Abdul Samad Achakzai,
were arrested. The pro-Congress Anjuman-i-Watan
Party, headed by Samad Achakzai, was declared unlawful.
Baluchistan
is the largest of the four provinces of Pakistan. The British Empire,
the paramount power in the region, reached a security agreement on 1st October
1887 with theprincely state of Kalat which
was ruled by the Khan of
Kalat but
the kingdom retained its sovereignty in all other respects. In 1947, when
Pakistan became independent,
Pakistan signed a standstill agreement with the state of Kalat (a land-locked
state surrounded by Pakistani territory and covering 23% of the territory of
the current province of Baluchistan) which recognized its autonomy and
sovereignty, subject to future negotiation of the relationship. However, both
houses of the Kalat parliament had asserted independence in 1947 and the Khan
subsequently acknowledged that he had no right to accede to Pakistan's demand
for annexation which he said he had only done under the threat of military
force. Since then, a number of separatist groups in the
province have engaged in an armed struggle against the Pakistani government;
the first was led by Prince
Karim Khan in
1948, and later by Nawab Nowroz Khan in 1968. These tribal
uprisings were limited in scope, a more serious insurgency was led by the Marri and Mengaltribes between 1973 and 1977. All
these groups fought for the existence of a "Greater Baluchistan"
— a single independent state ruled under tribal jirgas (a
tribal system of government) and comprising the historical Baluchistan region,
found within Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In 2005 there was another struggle to achieve these aims, in 2006,Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed during a
military operation, the man they blamed for the violence. Although
Bugti had been proclaimed an offender by former president Pervez Musharraf he
has become a hero for separatists. However, he is accused of devouring federal
funds for the development of the province, as well as gas royalties, and was
also accused of operating unauthorized jails and dungeons in his territory.
Prince Abdul Karim Khan
On
the night of May 16, 1948, Prince Abdul Karim Khan,
the younger brother of the Khan, decided to lead a rebellion. The Prince
invited the leading members of nationalist political parties—the Kalat State
National Party, the Baloch
League, and the Baloch National Workers Party—to join him
in the struggle for the creation of an independent "Greater Baluchistan."
Apart from his political motives, the Prince was a member of the royal family
and the former governor of the Makran province; he was upset by Pakistan's
recognition of Sardar
Bay Khan Gichki as Makran's ruler. He saw an end to his
privileges and position in a Pakistani Baluchistan province. The Baloch
insurgents fled to Afghanistan and encamped at Sarlath in
the province of Kandahar. During their stay, the Baloch fighters adopted
national, cultural and religious ideas to further their cause. The Prince also
organized the Baloch Warriors, former soldiers and officers of the Khanate's
army.
Prince
Karim's capture
With
Afghan aid, Abdul Karim entered Baluchistan and organized a rebellion against
Pakistan in the Jalawan area. He received assistance from Mir Gohar
Khan Zahrri,
an influential tribal leader of the Zarkzai
clan. Major General Akbar Khan,
who was in charge of the Pakistani army's Seventh
Regiment,
was ordered to attack the insurgents and force them to surrender. Prince Karim
and his 142 followers were arrested and imprisoned in the Mach in Quetta jails.
Trial
and sentencing
After
the arrest of the Prince and his party, the A.G.G. gave an order for an
inquiry, to be conducted by Khan Sahib
Abdullah Khan,
the Additional District Magistrate of Quetta. He submitted his report on
September 12, 1948. His report was based on the Prince's activities and upon
the letters and documents published by the rebel force. After the inquiry, R.
K. Saker, the District Magistrate of Quetta, appointed a special Jirga
(official council of elders), this Jirga was
instructed to study the circumstances and events which led to the revolt and
was asked to give its recommendations to the District Magistrate. On November
10], 1948, the Jirga heard the testimony of the accused and gave its
recommendations to the D.M. on November 17, 1948, suggesting the delivery of
the Prince to Loralai at the pleasure of the Government of Pakistan and various
other penalties. The D.M., in his order dated November 27, 1948, differed with
the opinion of the Jirga and sentenced the Prince to ten years of rigorous
imprisonment and a fine of 5000 rupees. Other members of his
party were given various sentences and fines.
Second Balochistan Conflict (1958)
Nawab
Nowroz or
Nowroz Khan, commonly known by Balochs as Babu Nowroz, was the head of the
Zarakzai tribes of Baluchistan. Nowroz started an armed struggle against
Pakistan, but later surrendered, in accordance with an oath on Holy Quran, to
Lt. Col. Tikka Khan (later
General of the Pakistani army). He and his followers, including his sons and
nephews, were taken to Hyderabad Jail, where they all faced military trial.
Despite the peace treaty, five leaders were executed while Nawroz died shortly
after in jail
Baluchistan Conflict of the 1970s
This
rebellion was an infamous period in Pakistani history, second only to the Civil
War of 1971 and the subsequent loss of East
Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
The
National Awami Party, led by ethnic nationalists Ghaus Bux Bizenjo, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Gul Khan Nasir, Khair Bux Marri, Nawab Akbar Khan
Bugti and Khan Wali
Khan,
dominated Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). At the time, even the Jamiat i Ulema
i Islam of Maulana Mufti Mahmud (father of Maulana Fazlur Rehman) thought it
fit to join hands with the ethnic nationalists to espouse the parochial cause.
Emboldened
by the stand taken by Sheikh
Mujib,
the ethnic nationalists of the two provinces demanded their "provincial
rights" from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in
exchange for a consensual approval of the 1973 constitution. But while Mr.
Bhutto admitted the National Awami Party to a NAP-JUI coalition, he refused to
negotiate with the provincial governments led by chief minister Ataullah Mengal in Quetta and Mufti Mahmud in
Peshawar. Tensions erupted.
Within
six months, the federal government had sacked the two provincial governments,
arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs,
obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the NAP and charged everyone
with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad tribunal of
handpicked judges. In time, an ethnic nationalist insurgency erupted and sucked
the army into the province, pitting the Baloch tribals against Islamabad.
The
1970s conflict with the separatists, which manifested itself in the form of an
armed struggle against the Pakistani army in Baluchistan,
was provoked by federal impatience, brought about by Bhutto's desire to
monopolize as much power as possible, and high-handedness and undemocratic
constitutional deviation. Mir Hazar
Khan Marri headed
the separatist movement under the Baluch
People's Liberation Front (BPLF). Marri and
the BPLF fled to Afghanistan, along with thousands of his supporters. Baluch
separatists often fight today under related acronyms such as BLA, BLM, BLO,
etc.
The
irony was that Nawab Akbar Khan
Bugti served the federal government when Bhutto appointed
him Governor of Baluchistan
throughout the time of the insurgency; during this time, Bugti spoke not a word
in favour of provincial autonomy. The greater irony was that the insurgency
came to an end following the army coup of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq against
Mr. Bhutto's civilian government.
Soon
thereafter, General Zia unfolded plans to desensitize the alienated Baloch and
Pashtun separatist leadership with a multi-faceted strategy aimed at co-opting
the leaders in office while providing jobs and funds from the federal
government to the alienated, insecure tribal middle classes. More
significantly, Zia created maximum political space for the mullah parties in
the NWFP and Baluchistan so that they could be galvanized in the jihad against the USSR in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Divided,
fatigued and shorn of its ideological moorings or avowed enemies such as
Bhutto, the Greater Baluchistan movement
faded into memory over the next two decades.
The Iranian Baluchi were
supported from the 1950s to 1980s by Arab
nationalist leaders,
especially Baathist regimes of Iraq and Syria and Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.
In the 1950s, Iraq supported Dad Shah. In the 1960s, Baluchi revolted against Iran, Iraq fully supported Baluchis but as a result of Baluchi
tribal leaders negotiating with Shah of Iran,
the Iraqi support for Baluchi shrank
until in 1975, when Algeria settled the dispute
with Iraq. Iran and Iraq stopped
supporting Baluchis but Iraq ties with Baloch people did not end completely. In
1979, Iranian Revolution started
the Iran–Iraq
War, which ran from 1980
to 1988. Baghdad created a major
problem for Iran by supporting Iranian
Baluchiin
its attack on Iranian
Forces on
the eastern side of the border by Baluchi separatist group Baluchi
Autonomist Movement. During the war, intelligence established an
office inDubai run
by Baluchis, to send spies into Iran.
Rahimuddin Khan's reign
The
uprising itself had suffered from a lack of direction. Some Baloch wanted
independence, most only greater autonomy within Pakistan.
Attacks were organised by individual Baloch separatist chiefs, rather than an
organised Baloch-wide attack. Also, the Baloch separatists hoped to get the
support of the USSR], which never happened. Also, the large Pashtun and Brahvi
minorities in Baluchistan did not take part and were hostile to the idea of a
separate Baluchistan.
Another
Pathan who was hostile to the idea of a separate Baluchistan was Rahimuddin Khan, a distinguished Lieutenant
General at the time (later General). Soon after Zia's assuming power,
Rahimuddin was appointed Martial
Law Governor of Baluchistan,
a position that headed all affairs to do with the province, and thus was, for
the Pakistani government, a phenomenally powerful post.
Rahimuddin's
unprecedented long rule (1978–84) crushed any armed uprisings within the
province with an iron fist. His completely isolating Baloch Sardars from
provincial policy was a move that, over time, gained increasing controversy],
due to the unheard of nature of Rahimuddin's style of government. Past rulers
had tried to appease the feudal lords; Rahimuddin went out of his way to
isolate them from any position of provincial power, and tried to appease the
common masses of the province by promoting economic growth.
This,
in retrospect, ultimately led to the most stable period Baluchistan has ever
witnessed after the British left. Economic expansion was also impressive during
Rahimuddin's reign.
Old
grievances
Baluchistan remains a neglected backwater of Pakistan. Baluchistan’s internal politics have been factionalised by federal interference and meddling in the pursuit of dubious strategic regional interests. The province's drought-stricken pastoral economy cannot even provide for its small population. Government neglect and growing support for tribal leaders has strengthened the ranks of the separatists and increased their clout.The causes of grievances in Baluchistan are twofold. On one side there are tribal leaders who want no development in the area; on the other side is the government, who is reluctant to go against tribal leaders. Natural gas development in the city of Sui has never benefited the people of Baluchistan. Huge royalties are paid to Sardar of Sui, but the money fails to reach the area's poor; the federal government earns billions from gas extracted from the province, but gives only a fraction back to Baluchistan for development, and this fraction is largely improperly spent; the provincial autonomy promised in the 1973 constitution is nonexistent, etc.
The
danger in Baluchistan is twofold. The nascent but alienated middle class in the
few towns of Baluchistan is now rallying behind the nationalists and accepts
the sardars spear heading PONM as genuine leaders. At the same
time, the developmental lag in the province is sufficient to substantiate the
anti-centre stance of the PONM. That is why any military action in the province
may perhaps completely lack local support. Locals may support military action
if it is against the sardars who are eating their resources, but this is
unlikely as the federal government does not want to create any more problems in
Baluchistan. Even the PONM is not representing all of Baluchistan, as its
ideology is very narrow and its leader rarely delivers.
The
other destabilizing factor relates to the ongoing battle against the combined
forces of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the area.
The Pashtuns in Baluchistan also have
serious problems with the federal government's policy on the Pakistani-Afghan
frontier. This could be troublesome, since Pashtun nationalism has also been
responsible for the internationally reported presence of the Taliban in the province.
Economic development
Many
development projects are underway in Baluchistan, including the Gwadar deep sea port which is being
built by the help of China. The Makran Coastal
Highway was also constructed on the coastline between Gwadar
and Karachi by National
Highway Authority,
and has reduced travelling time considerably. The government is also making
several water filled dams in Baluchistan, including Mirani dam. From 1947 to
2002 the total development budget allotted to Baluchistan was Rs.152 Bn. The
development budget allotted to Baluchistan from 2002 to 2008 was only Rs.302
Billion. This figure excludes allocated funding for projects outside development.
War on terror
Since
at least 2006, the US Central Intelligence Agency has allegedly been operating MQ-1 Predator drones
out of Shamsi air field to
assassinate militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
In
December 2009, Baluchistan itself became a target as well, as the command
of ISAF operating
in Afghanistan, announced that 30,000 soldiers – a third British, the rest
mostly American – would be based across the border in Helmand. From there the US had to
"target Taliban leaders in Baluchistan" through a drone strike
campaign.
Sources: Encylipedia, wekipedia and other online sources.
