Aveek Sen
In 1666, different Baloch confederacies united together to bring about a single Baloch nation state. Balochistan then established reciprocal diplomatic relations with their neighbours and beyond. The historical and geopolitical borders of Balochistan were drawn up in the 18th century by the Baloch political leader and ruler Mir Naseer Khan Baloch, also known as Noori Naseer Khan (1749-1794). The British Empire invaded the sovereign state of Balochistan on November 13, 1839. The finance minister, Dewan Bucha Mull (a Hindu) was among the Baloch sardars killed while trying to defend the Kalat, the capital of Balochistan. Meer Mehrab Khan, the Khan of Kalat also went down fighting. It is worth noting that even in feudal times, Hindu Baloch occupied prominent positions in the administration and the Baloch tribal set-up.
Over the years, the British leased some areas of Balochistan through negotiations and it came to be known as British Balochistan. The nation of Balochistan, often referred to by the name of its capital Kalat, consisted of three more states Kharan, Makran and Las Bela besides Kalat. They pledged suzerainty to British and had a status similar to those of the Princely States. As part of the great game in Afghanistan and Balochistan, the British in 1871 drew the Goldsmid Line (international boundary between Pakistan and Iran) and western part of Balochistan was given to the Qajar Dynasty of Iran. The Durand Line was drawn in the year 1893 and the northern part of Balochistan was given to Afghanistan. Certain Pashtun dominated areas of Afghanistan also became part of the British controlled buffer zone that are part of present day Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Balochistan got freedom from British rule on August 11, 1947. The Balochistan First Chamber in their session, held from 12th-15th December 1947, approved the declaration of Balochistan’s independence unanimously; the Balochistan Upper House also endorsed the First Chamber’s ruling in their session that was held from 2nd-January 4, 1948.
On March 27, 1948 Pakistan annexed Balochistan after a military invasion. Thereafter 5 uprisings have taken place against Pakistan to gain independence. Prince Abdul Karim Khan, the younger brother of the Khan of Kalat, led the first uprising in 1948. Nawab Nauroz Khan led the second uprising against Pakistan in late 1950s. In the 1970s, Nawab Khair Baksh Marri and others led the third uprising against Pakistan. He later went into exile in Afghanistan and returned in 1990 when the pro-Pakistan militias started gaining control over most of Afghanistan. In 1996, he founded the militia Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the fifth armed struggle for independence from Pakistan was started. It gathered steam in 2001. Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, who became the popular leader of the militia Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) also joined it in this period. Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, affectionately referred to as Baba-e-Balochistan, also extended his active support to BLF. It is worth noting that both Prince Abdul Karim Khan and Nawab Nauroz Khan were called for negotiations by swearing on the Quran but the Islamic Republic of Pakistan reneged on the terms agreed for and persecuted them.
It is important to know that these uprisings happened because at no point did Pakistani persecution of the Baloch stop. Asad Mengal and his brother Akhtar Mengal, sons of Ataullah Mengal who were both prominent politicians and served as Chief Ministers of Balochistan, was abducted in 1976 during Bhutto’s. But the watershed moment in Baloch history was the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was part of the political system in Pakistan and tried to use political means within the Pakistani parliamentary system for the welfare of Baloch. However, he was murdered by the Pakistan Army in 2006 when he demanded that Balochs be given their due rights.
Ghulam Mohammad Baloch and Lala Munir of Baloch National Movement (BNM) and Sher Mohammad Baloch of Baloch Republican Party (BRP) were kidnapped by Pakistani intelligence after Anti-Terrorism Court discharged them of all charges from their lawyer’s office in 2009. Soon after, they were tortured and their bodies dumped on the roads. This heralded Pakistan’s “kill and dump” policy with the Baloch. The Baloch armed resistance also grew stronger as Pakistan hunted down those not part of the armed struggle. Few months back Dr Mannan baloch, Secretary General of pro-independence party BNM was extra judicially murdered by Pakistani forces. They branded him a terrorist, though he struggled for independence in non-violent political manner and wasn’t a militant who picked up the gun.
Habib Jalib Baloch, former senator and Secretary General of Balochistan National Party (BNP), was killed by two gunmen near his home in Quetta on July 14, 2010. BNP is part of Pakistani parliamentary politics. BNP leaders too have been abducted by the droves. Khuzdar has been cleansed of all political workers. Hamid Mir stated sometime back how Baloch journalists from President of Press Clubs down to others have all been eliminated. Pakistan unleashed its proxy terror group – ‘death squads’ led by Shafiq Mengal in the Khuzdar area. Another ‘death squad’ is led by the Father of Balochistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti.
Baloch intellectuals were killed in droves irrespective of whether they were pro-independence or not. The Baloch language, literature and culture were suppressed. Teachers, Professors, authors were hunted down. Professor Saba Dashtyari of the University of Balochistan was among those murdered. Not just intellectuals or political leaders, but the Baloch population at large was targeted. More than 20,000 people have been recorded to have been abducted and more than 5,000 of them have since been killed. Mass graves were found all over Balochistan. Probably, never before had such indiscriminate killing been seen in history except that by Pakistan in present day Bangladesh.
Things had started heating up in 2005 when Pakistan Army killed 70 Bugti Baloch in Dera Bugti. Hindu Bugtis were among those killed— they had a large population in Dera Bugti. Musharraf had started his policy of ‘enforced disappearances’ whereby Baloch were abducted by the drove by Pakistani security forces and their proxy groups. In 2008, Zardari went a step further and the ‘kill and dump’ policy was implemented.
Pakistan has been chasing away Baloch since 2005 so that it could extract gas in the Dera Bugti path feeder region. No reimbursement was provided to those for acquiring their land. Then they started the same along China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)— in Gwadar, Kech, Panjgur and Awaran. The Baloch from these regions became IDPs in other parts of Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, Afghanistan and Iran. But they weren’t spared there either. Pakistani forces started abducting Baloch women and children who were sent off to Sindh by their families from Dera Bugti. This was done to blackmail the Baloch men to leave Dera Bugti so that the land and the gas there could be usurped. Since early 2000s, more than 3 lakh have left the Dera Bugti-Kohlu areas and 1.5 lakh have left the Gwadar-Kech-Panjgur-Awaran region. This is a significant forced migration as Balochistan accounts for 5 per cent of the population of Pakistan, though it is its largest province.
Gwadar town (the port town as different from the larger district) is being evacuated through a multi pronged strategy. Most residents (85 per cent as per reports) of Gwadar rely on fishing industry for livelihood. Illegal trawling by Pakistani and Chinese companies in the last few years dwindled their sources of income. Rules laid down by the Fisheries Department state that trawlers can operate at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the coast. However, in blatant violation of these rules, trawlers in Gwadar operate at 2 to 3 kilometers from the coast. Having no other skills, many poor fishermen go to Karachi to work as labourers to sustain their families. A severe shortage of drinking water has hit Gwadar. The shortage occurred because of the drying up of Ankara Dam, as its catchment area has not received any rain over the past three years. The government installed a desalination plant at a cost of Rs 1 billion in the Karwat area of Gwadar but it is yet to become functional. Some Baloch feel that it is an intentionally created artificial water crisis and many Baloch have sold off their property and left Gwadar due to the severe water scarcity. They are of the opinion that the desalination plants are already installed and will be started once the Punjabi Pakistani and Chinese population move in.
Baloch refugees are not spared even when abroad. Baloch refugee camps are routinely attacked by Pakistani proxies in Afghanistan, the most recent one being in May, 2016. On July 11, 2016 BRP leader Shah Nawaz Zehri was assassinated by Pakistani proxies in Saravan, Iran. This was the first target killing of Baloch IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in Iran.
All the major Baloch leaders- Karima Baloch of Baloch National Front, Hyrbyair Marri of FBM, Brahumdagh Bugti of BRP, Khalil Baloch of BNM, Mehran Marri have repeatedly appealed to the world at large that their governments, media, human rights organisations must look into the human rights situation in Balochistan. They have repeatedly asked the governments to take up problem of the Baloch people at least diplomatically at the international forums.
(The writer is a freelance journalist who writes on Geopolitics in India’s neighbour and cyber security)
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