Syeda Mazhar
Facets like geography and history have always imprinted the demographical mosaic of the civilization. Vast and rocky terrain of Balochistan adorned with its coastal belt heralds the marches by Alexander’s army in 300 BC and being a gateway to a strategically important ‘Strait of Hurmoz’, Central Asia and bordering the two extremely important and politically unstable Islamic Republics; Balochistan has always been prominent for Regional Politics.
Geography and courses of invaders have kept it a distant demography. The Baloch are a very peculiar social organism with their secularity and their strong tribal networks and leadership. Even today the region serves a significant geopolitical location in the world and most of the agendas of the United States and other powers depend on their easy accessibility of the province.
The India Independence Act left the princes theoretically free to accede to either dominion. Similarly, the khan of Kalat in Balochistan declared independence on August 15, 1947, but offered to negotiate a special relationship with Pakistan. Other Baloch Sardar (tribal chiefs) also expressed their preference for a separate identity as is still a topic of controversy.
The Baloch knew that under accession their separate identity and unique heritage was being threatened; they only wanted alignment with Pakistan, not accession. Unfortunately, the Baloch claim that Pakistan rejected the legitimate concerns of the Baloch. Pakistan never treated Kalat as a non-Indian state and insisted on unconditional accession. To attain this objective, the Pakistani government used several ploys, including the buying off of Kalat state feudatories (Kharan and Las Bela) through lavish privy purses, and the elevation of the Gichki sardar of Mekran a Kalat district sardar to princely status. The end result of these machinations, including a threat of military action, was that the Khan acceded to Pakistan in March 27, 1948. This, however, was not the case where the Khan of Baloch joined the Muslims League during the partition to help raise the voice of Balcohis and along with that the newly formed state of Pakistan.
Balochistan that Pakistan inherited consisted of three types of territory. First, there was a long strip of territory separating Balochistan from Afghanistan and KPK, which was directly administered by the British. The purpose of this territory was to have a buffer to isolate the Baloch tribes from their neighbours. Then there were districts leased from the Khan of Kalat after the original annexation. Both these territories, the leased and the directly administered strip, were under the control of Chief Commissioner. Chiefs, who had treaty relationships with the British, controlled the rest of Balochistan. They had internal independence but the Government of India controlled their external relations. The Khan of Kalat was the most important of these chiefs, whose territories were divided amongst a number of feudatories with different levels of independence. Three of these feudatories; Makran, Las Bela and Kharan had emerged as separate political entities by 1947, and with Kalat formed the Balochistan States Union. They were something more than tribes, but less than states. After the ascension of Abdur Rehman as the Amir of Kabul in the 19th Century, when Afghanistan became pro-British, Sir J. Brown, the successor of Sandeman, deposed the independent Khan and had Mir Mahmud II installed as the Khan of Kalat. The British also framed a new constitution for Kalat. The grim history Balochistan, in the present context, dates back to August 1947, when the Khan of Kalat declared independence but when Pakistan emerged as a sovereign state, the government asked Mir Ahmad Yar Khan to join Pakistan. He said it in his speech: ‘I thank God that one aspiration, that is independence, has been achieved, but the other two, the enforcement of Shariah-i-Muhammadi and unification of Baloch people, remain to be fulfilled…’ The Khan of Kalat later joined Pakistan but as expected, public reaction against the accession was strong and the brother of the Khan, Abdul Karim, repudiated the accession and led the first of many insurgencies against Pakistan. The UK High Commissioner, commenting on the Khan’s denials, wrote: “Khan’s public denials of rumours about offers made to him by India and Afghanistan conflict with his own statements in earlier discussion with Pakistan representatives, when he used these offers as a blackmailing argument. There is good reason to believe that he has been flirting with both India and Afghanistan.
While the Instrument of Accession was signed by the Khan of Kalat on March 27, it was placed before Jinnah on March 31,1948, who accepted it. There was no kind of resistance to the accession till the middle of July 1948, when the brother of the Khan returned from Afghanistan, where he had fled with a body of armed followers. The Pakistan Army engaged this band and the majority of his followers arrested.
Pakistan Army came to the rescue of the Khan of Kalat then and even today it provides continuous assistance to the province. Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps (FC) have set up Assistance Camp and Crisis Management Centers in order to provide assistance to stranded motorists and passengers on roads of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan, following heavy snowfall and rainfall in respective areas. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is another project that allows the Balochs to have better employment opportunities and an upgrade in their lifestyle. The terrorists and other feudal elements established in Balochistan are causing turmoil in the region, conspiring against the Baloch youth to prevent them from advancing in order to keep their hold over them so they continue exploiting them.
Despite being sparsely dwelled and duely exploited, the religion and culture have kept the social bond in strength. Demography and absence of much needed awareness carved the roots of feudalism. With diminishing authority, the feudal and politicians are exploiting the Balochi youth by installing a politically motivated sense of deprivation. Much of the current discussion of today, and of the last six decades, fails to take into cognizance the history behind the Baloch national struggle.
