BALOCHISTAN – A NATION WAITING TO BE BORN?

PART – 2 : GENESIS OF THE BALOCHISTAN INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT

10. From the Baloch perspective, as explained by Dr Tara Chand, President of the Baloch American Congress, the genesis of the problem lay in the fact that “—- Pakistan, an artificial state created by the British Empire after the partition of India in 1947, occupied Balochistan on March 27, 1948, in violation of existing international laws against colonialism. This occupation was unacceptable to the Baloch people, who began a political and armed resistance in response—.”     

11. Indeed, the Baloch independence movement has deep historical roots, with the princely state of Kalat being at the centre of most developments. According to Brahui and Baloch traditions, Kalat was ruled by a Hindu ruler named Sewa when they first conquered it. The Khanate itself was founded by Ameer Meero Merwani Baloch in 1405. In the 17^th century, this region came under the Mughal province of Kandahar. The Khanate reached its peak during the reign of Mir Nasir Khan I (1749–94), known to the Baloch as “The Great Khan”, who undertook 25 military campaigns during his reign, unified the Kalat region and conquered the cities of Khash, Bampur, Qasr-e Qand and Zahedan in what is now Iranian Balochistan. He forced the Talpur Dynasty of Sindh to pay tribute, established a centralized bureaucracy for the first time and issued his own currency. Moreover, he established the office of Grand Vizier to look after the affairs of the state, as well as a standing army. He also established diplomatic relations with Ottoman Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Sultanate of Oman. In 1784, he gave refuge to the future Sultan of Oman, Sultan bin Ahmad, and gifted him the port of Gwadar. The Treaty of Kalat was signed in 1758 between him and the Afghan King, Ahmad Shah Durrani.

12. The last Khan of Kalat was Ahmad Yar Khan, governing from 1933 to 1955. In 1946, he appointed Muhammad Ali Jinnah as his legal advisor to represent his case before the British Crown, a move that would prove costly to him and his country. With characteristic cunning, Jinnah manoeuvred to persuade the Khan to accede to Pakistan, but the Khan stalled for time so that he could reconcile the differences between his polity. His personal preference, as well as that of his brother, Prince Karim, was to remain independent but there was deep divide between his tribal leaders, who represented the will of the people; some of whom favoured a union with Pakistan while the majority favoured joining India.

13. At that time Balochistan’s nominated parliament was dominated by pro-Congress/anti Muslim League politicians of Kalat State National Party (KSNP) including Malik Saeed Khan Dehwar, Gul Khan Naseer, Alijah Ghous Bux Mengal, Ghous Bux Bizenjo, etc; all of whom voted against joining Pakistan. By 1940, it emerged that the British viewed Kalat as an Indian state. The British authorities claimed that Ahmed Yar Khan demonstrated willingness to participate in Indian affairs as ruler of an Indian state, yet they could not find out a way to incorporate Balochistan into the Indian federation because of its geographical separation from India and also because, in their view, it lacked proper administrative and political institutions. It is significant to note that on 12 Aug 1947, the Khan of Kalat Mir Ahmed Yar Khan promulgated a constitution and declared independence, to be effective from 15 August 1947, the same day as India attained its independence. So, Kalat actually became an independent state on 15 August 1947.

14. The events leading up to this declaration of independence are well documented. On August 4, 1947, a meeting was convened in Delhi, attended by Lord Mountbatten — India’s last viceroy, his legal counsel Lord Ismay, the Khan of Kalat, the Prime Minister Kalat, Sutan Ahmed, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru. The future of Balochistan was defined in the ‘Three Point Agreement’ signed by Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan on behalf of Pakistan and by Prime Minister Sultan Ahmed on behalf of the Khanate of Kalat. In this meeting, Jinnah supported Khan of Kalat’s decision for independence. As a result, it was agreed that Kalat would be independent from August 5, 1947, and Kharan and Las Bela were instructed to merge with Kalat to form a complete Balochistan – on Jinnah’s insistence. On August 11, 1947, a treaty was signed between Kalat and the Muslim League, recognising Kalat as an independent state, and promising that the Muslim League would respect Balochistan’s independence. On August 15, 1947, the same day India gained independence, Kalat also declared its independence. The traditional flag, see image below, was hoisted, and a khutbah (Islamic sermon) was read in the name of the Khan of Kalat as an independent ruler.

15. Soon thereafter, Lasbela, Kharan, and Makran decided to accede to Pakistan. This left the Khan relatively isolated and increased pressure on him to follow suit. At this precise juncture, Jinnah backtracked on the ‘Three Point Agreement’, and instead of respecting his signed commitment of August 1947 to the Khan’s independence, he started bringing immense political, legal and military pressure on the Khan to merge with Pakistan. In response, the Khan of Kalat summoned his legislature’s meeting, at which both houses of its Parliament not only unanimously opposed the ‘merger with Pakistan’ proposal but also argued that it was against the spirit of the earlier agreement of 1947 as well as the Treaty of 1876. However, after 27 March 1948, Pakistan – with British connivance, especially the denial of arms and ammunition to the Khan to defend his state from Pakistani military aggression – forcibly annexed Kalat by a combination of legal obfuscation, political stratagem, plain deceit and aggressive actions, which the Baloch nationalists have never accepted till today. Many Baloch nationalists viewed the annexation as a betrayal of Balochistan, its people, its autonomy and an infringement upon their cultural identity, a staunch view held by them to this day. They rose in defiance under the leadership of Prince Abdul Karim, the brother of Khan of Kalat, in 1948. But this insurgency was brutally suppressed by the Pakistani army and Prince Karim was arrested. This uprising kept resurfacing with vigour from time to time, especially in 1958, 1962, and the early 70s, but each time the Pakistan state managed to suppress it with military force.

16. The exact circumstances of this annexation are unclear even today, with the Balochi and Pakistani narratives differing widely. Nonetheless, the Khanate came to an end on 14 October 1955, when the Baluchistan States Union was dissolved, Kalat was incorporated into the ‘One Unit’ of West Pakistan, and Yar Khan ceased to rule. Not to be outdone, Yar Khan declared himself Khan again in defiance of the Pakistani state in June 1958. On 6 October 1958, the Pakistani government arrested and imprisoned him on charges of sedition. His arrest triggered an insurgent uprising led by Nauroz Khan in 1959. The Genesis of the Balochistan Independence Movement lies in the folds of these murky events of 1948.

Baloch Separatist Groups

17. About half a dozen separatist groups exist today, the front-runners being BLA and BLF. It needs to be underlined that even amongst them there are different nuances in ideology and aspirations. Thus, while the BLA (Balochistan Liberation Army, currently led by Hyrbyair Marri) actively seeks independence from Pakistan, targeting Pakistani military and government institutions, the BLF (Baloch Liberation Front, currently led by Allah Nazar Baloch) has been historically involved in the Baloch insurgency against the governments of both Pakistan and Iran. Then there is the BPLF (Balochistan People’s Liberation Front) that seeks to define the borders of Balochistan to include Baloch dominated areas of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Last, though by no means the least, are the Jaish ul-Adl and Jundallah militant groups operating in Iranian Balochistan who also advocate for Baloch independence and have been involved in attacks against Iranian forces. These are the bigger, more powerful groups.

18. Not to be missed are a host of other, smaller, groups such as the Lashkar-e-Balochistan, United Baloch Army (BA), currently led by Mehran Marri, Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS), Baloch Republican Army (BRA) currently led by Brahumdagh Bugti, and the Jhalawan Baloch Tigers (JBT). Dynamics between these groups involve mergers and breakaways, even internecine fighting, as well as forming alliances with Pakistan’s other neighbouring separatist groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Party (TTP, currently led by Noor Wali Mehsud in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Sindhudesh Liberation Army (SLA) in Sindh, currently led by Darya Khan and the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), currently led by Shafi Muhammad Burfat. Tribal loyalties remain the strongest bonds between the people and their leaders, which explains why these regions have never remained united for long, but what sets the Baloch groups apart is that all of them, without exception, are unequivocally agreed on one thing – independence from Pakistan.