History of Balochistan

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The history of Balochistan began in 650 BCE with vague allusions to the region in Greek historical records. Balochistan is divided between the Pakistani province of Balochistan, the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan and the Afghan region of Balochistan. Prehistoric Balochistan dates to the Paleolithic lithic scatters.

Pre-Islamic history

In 650 BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus described the Paraitakenoi as a tribe ruled by Deiokes, a Persian king, in north-western Persia (History I.101). Arrian described how Alexander the Great encountered the Pareitakai in Bactria and Sogdiana, and had Craterus conquer them (Anabasis Alexandrou IV). The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea in the 1st century described the territory of the Paradon beyond the Ommanitic region on the coast of modern Baluchistan.^[1]

Ancient empires

The earliest evidence of human occupation in what is now Balochistan is dated to the Paleolithic era, represented by hunting camps and lithic scatters, chipped and flaked stone tools. The earliest settled villages in the region date to the ceramic Neolithic (c. 7000–6000 BCE), and included the site of Mehrgarh located in the Kachi Plain. These villages expanded in size during the subsequent Chalcolithic, when interaction increased. This involved the movement of finished goods and raw materials, including chank shell, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and ceramics. By the Bronze Age in 2500 BCE, Pakistani Balochistan had become part of the Harappan cultural orbit, providing key resources to the expansive settlements of the Indus river basin to the east. Pakistani Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of the Indus Valley civilisation.

From the 1st century to the 3rd century CE, the region of modern Pakistani Balochistan was ruled by the Pāratarājas, the "Pārata 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 Balochistan 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.

Islamic conquest of Balochistan

Arab forces invaded Balochistan in the 7th century, converting the Baloch people to Islam.^[2] 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 Balochistan 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.^[3] 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.^[4] Southwestern Balochistan was conquered during the campaign in Sistan that same year.

During Caliph Uthman's reign in 652, Balochistan 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.^[5] 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 Kabul and 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).^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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 Balochistan 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.^[3]

Medieval era

Shortly afterwards, western Balochistan fell to Nasir-ud-din Sabuktagin. His son, Mahmud of Ghazni, conquered the whole of Balochistan. After the Ghaznavids, the area passed to the Ghurids. A little later, western Balochistan, Iranian Balochistan, became part of the dominion of Sultan Muhammad Khan of Khwarazmian (Khiva) in 1219.^[3] 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.^[3]

Afterwards part of the history of Balochistan centres around Kandahar and is 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.^[3]

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.^[10]

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.^[10]

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 Khan succeeded 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.

Khans of Kalat

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 supplied men-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.^[11]

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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.'^[14] The place was taken by assault and Mehrab Khan was slain.^[12]

British conquest of Eastern Balochistan

The British gradually became involved in Balochistan 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.^[15]

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.^[16]

Accession to Pakistan 1948

Balochi nationalists support the claim that the ruler of the Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, was coerced by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first governor-general of Pakistan, to sign the document of accession. Critics dispute such claims as unrealistic and contrary to popular support for Jinnah, as the Khan of Kalat ruled even after Jinnah's death with the support of the government. However, the Khan was not an absolute monarch; he was required to act under the provisions of the Rawaj (Kalat's constitution).

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.

Balochistan is the largest of the four provinces of Pakistan.^[17] The British Empire, the paramount power in the region, reached a security agreement on 1 October 1887 with the princely state of Kalat which was ruled by the Khan of Kalat^[18] 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 Balochistan) which recognized its autonomy and sovereignty, subject to future negotiation of the relationship.^[19] 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.^[19] 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 Mengal tribes between 1973 and 1977. All these groups fought for the existence of a "Greater Balochistan" — a single independent state ruled under tribal jirgas (a tribal system of government) and comprising the historical Balochistan 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,^[20] the man they blamed for the violence.^[21] 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.^[22]

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 Balochistan." 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 Balochistan 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 Balochistan 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 Balochistan. 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.

Balochistan 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 Balochistan, 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 Balochistan 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 Balochistan 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 Balochistan 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 Baluchi in 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 in Dubai 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 Balochistan did not take part and were hostile to the idea of a separate Balochistan.

Another Pathan who was hostile to the idea of a separate Balochistan 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 Balochistan, 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 Balochistan has ever witnessed after the British left. Economic expansion was also impressive during Rahimuddin's reign.

Old grievances

The causes of grievances in Balochistan 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 Balochistan. 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 Balochistan for development, and this fraction is largely improperly spent; the provincial autonomy promised in the 1973 constitution is nonexistent, etc.

Balochistan remains a neglected backwater of Pakistan. Balochistan'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 danger in Balochistan is twofold. The nascent but alienated middle class in the few towns of Balochistan is now rallying behind the nationalists and accepts the sardars spearheading 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 Balochistan. Even the PONM is not representing all of Balochistan, 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 Balochistan 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 Balochistan, 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 Balochistan, including Mirani dam. From 1947 to 2002 the total development budget allotted to Baluchistan was Rs.152 Bn. The development budget allotted to Balochistan from 2002 to 2008 in 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 airfield to assassinate militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.^[23]

In December 2009, Balochistan 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 Balochistan" through a drone strike campaign.^[24]

See also

• Human rights violations in Balochistan
• Balochistan conflict
• Iraqi support of Baloch rebels
• Dad Shah
• Paratarajas

References

External links

• Balochistan Archives- Preserving Our Past
• BBC Urdu - History of Balochistan
• Balochistan District Maps, information and Background
• Country studies by the U.S. State Department
• Ancient Baluchistan – Exploring the Past
• Great game being played again - The News Pakistan
• Balochistan: Pakistan's other war - documentary on Al Jazeera English, January 2012 (video, 47 mins)
• http://www.uob.edu.pk/journals/TREATY%20OF%20KALAT%201758%20BETWEEN%20QANDHAR%20AND%20KALAT%20AND%20ITS%20IMPACTS.pdf
• The Coin Galleries: Pāratarājas

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