Ahmad of Kalat

Mir Sir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai GCIE (1902-1979) was the last Khan of Kalat, a semi-autonomous state within Britain's Indian Empire, serving from 10 September 1933 to 14 October 1955.[1]

Mir Ahmad Yar assumed his throne in 1933, and was decorated by the British in the 1936 New Year Honours as a Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE).[2]

He declared Kalat's independence from the British Empire on 15 August 1947, hoping British Prime Minister Clement Attlee would honor his pledge to respect the self-determination of the Princely States. Yar Khan had served as an agent of British intelligence services in the 1920s, reporting on Russian influence and the spread of pro-Marxist sympathy among the poorer Baloch subjects.[3] He appointed Douglas Fell, a Briton, Foreign Minister of Kalat in an effort to curry favor with the British government. Kalat was recognized by the UK and India but not Pakistan.[4] Despite his nationalist aspirations, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was Yar Khan's legal adviser in the early 1940s.[5] Jinnah pressured Yar Khan to accept Pakistani rule but the Khan stalled for time. Out of impatience, on 27 March 1948, Pakistan formally annexed Kalat.[6] In April, the military invaded, conquering the territory in a month.[7] Yar Khan signed a treaty of accession, submitting to the federal government. His younger brothers, Princes Agha Abdul Karim Baloch and Muhammad Rahim, refused to lay down arms, leading the Dosht-e Jhalawan in unconventional attacks on the army until 1950.[8] Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until the province's dissolution in 1955.

He briefly declared himself Khan again in defiance of the Pakistani state from June to October 1958.[9] On 6 October 1958, the Pakistani government arrested and imprisoned Yar Khan on sedition charges during the coup d'état against President Iskander Mirza but later released and briefly restored his title in 1962.[10][11] His arrest triggered an insurgent uprising led by Nauroz Khan in 1959.[12]

Legacy

Yar Khan's eldest son, Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, assumed the title of Khan of Kalat upon his father's death in 1979. He has lived in exile in London since the Pakistani Army killed tribal leader Akbar Bugti in battle in 2006. Officially, the Pakistani government does not recognize his authority but unofficially his voice still carries tremendous weight with much of the populace and leading politicians like Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch and Sanaullah Zehri have asked him to return to Pakistan to pacify the restless Baloch. Yar Khan's younger sons, Prince Mohyuddin Baloch and Umer Daud Khan, are both politicians in Pakistan.[13]

Books

References

  1. ↑ Naseer Dashti (2012). The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State. Trafford Publishing. p. 322.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34238. p. 6. 31 December 1935. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Amin Saikal (2004). Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival. I.B.Tauris. p. 267.
  4. ↑ Hamid Alikuzai (2015). A Concise History of Afghanistan-Central Asia and India in 25 Volumes, Volume 10. Trafford Publishing. p. 23.
  5. ↑ Farhan Hanif Siddiqi (2012). The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements. Routledge. p. 56-58.
  6. ↑ Yaqoob Khan Bangash (May 10, 2015). "The princely India".
  7. ↑ Ravi Shekhar Narain Singh (2008). The Military Factor in Pakistan. Lancer Publishers. p. 191.
  8. ↑ Qaiser Butt (April 22, 2013). "Balochistan Princely Liaisons: The Khan family controls politics in Kalat". The Express Tribune.
  9. ↑ "Deposed Khan of Kalat restored". Dawn. November 7, 2012.
  10. ↑ Raṇabīra Samāddāra (2007). The Materiality of Politics: Volume 1: The Technologies of Rule, Volume 1. Anthem Press. p. 38.
  11. ↑ James B. Minahan (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World A-Z [4 Volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 258.
  12. ↑ Farhan Hanif Siddiqi (2012). The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements. Routledge. p. 71.
  13. ↑ "Khan of Kalat being persuaded to return home". Dawn. June 29, 2015.
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