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Who Are the Baloch?

To the neighboring Pushtun tribes, who live in fertile riverine valleys, Baluchistan is "the dump where Allah shot the rubbish of creation. But for the Baluch, their sense of identity is closely linked to the austere land where they have lived for at least a thousand years. According to the Daptar Sha'ar {Chronicle of Genealogies), an ancient ballad popular among all seventeen major Baluch tribes, the Baluch and the Kurds were kindred branches of a tribe that migrated eastwards from Aleppo, in what now is Syria, shortly before the time of Christ in search of fresh pasturelands and water sources. One school nationalist historians attempts to link this tribe ethnically with the Semitic Chaldean rulers of Babylon, another with the early Arabs, still others with Aryan tribes originally from Asia Minor. In any case, there is agreement among these historians that the Kurds headed toward Iraq, Turkey, and northwest Persia, while the Baluch moved In to the coastal areas along the southern shores of the Caspian sea, later migrating into what are now Iranian Baluchistan and Pakistani Baluchistan between the sixth and fourteenth centuries.

Western historians dismiss the Daptar Sha'ar as nothing more than myth and legend, totally unsubstantiated by verifiable evidence, and it remains for future scholars to probe into the murky origins of the Baluch. These legends are cited here not because they have serious historiographic value but because they are widely believed and are thus politically important today. For the most part, Aleppo is a unifying symbol of a common identity in the historical memories shared by all Baluch. In recent years, however, Arab attempts to attribute Arab ethnic origins to the Baluch have become a divisive factor in the nationalist movement.

Whatever the authenticity of the Aleppo legends, scholars in Baluchistan and in the West generally agree that the Baluch were living along the southern shores of the Caspian at the time of Christ. This consensus is based largely on linguistic evidence showing that the Baluchi language is descended from a lost language linked with the Parthian or Median civilizations, which flourished in the Caspian and adjacent areas in the pre-Christian era. As one of the oldest living languages, Baluchi is a subject of endless fascination and controversy for linguists. It is classified as a member of the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family, which includes Farsi (Persian), Pushtu, Baluchi, and Kurdish. Baluchi is closely related to only one of the members of the Iranian group; Kurdish. In its modern form, it has incorporated borrowings from Persian, Sindhi, Arabic, and other languages, nonetheless retaining striking peculiarities that can be traced back to its pre-Christian origins. Until150 years ago, the Baluch, like most nomadic societies, did not have a recorded literature. Initially, Baluch savants used the Persian and Urdu scripts to render Baluchi in written form. In recent decades, Baluch nationalist intellectuals have evolved a Baluchi script known as Nastaliq, a variant of the Arabic script.

Ethnically, the Baluch are no longer homogeneous, since the original nucleus that migrated from the Caspian has absorbed a variety of disparate groups along the way. Among these "new" Baluch were displaced tribes from Central Asia, driven southward by the Turkish and Mongol invasions from the tenth through the thirteenth centuries, and fugitive Arab factions defeated in intra-Arab warfare. Nevertheless, in cultural terms, the Baluch have been remarkably successful in preserving a distinctive identity in the face of continual pressures from strong cultures in neighboring areas. Despite the isolation of the scattered pastoral communities in Baluchistan, the Baluchi language and a relatively uniform Baluch folklore tradition and value system have provided a common denominator for the diverse Baluch tribal groupings scattered over the vast area from the Indus River in the east to the Iranian province of Kerman in the west. To a great extent, it is the vitality of this ancient cultural heritage that explains the tenacity of the present demand for the political recognition of Baluch identity. But the strength of Baluch nationalism is also rooted in proud historical memories of determined resistance against the would-be conquerors who perennially attempted, without success, to annex all or part of Baluchistan to their adjacent empires.

Reliving their past endlessly in books, magazines, and folk ballads, the Baluch accentuate the positive. They revel in the gory details of ancient battles against Persians, Turks, Arabs, Tartars, Hindus, and other adversaries, focusing on how valiantly their generals fought rather than on whether the Baluch won or lost. They point to the heroes who struggled to throw off the yoke of more powerful oppressors and minimize the role of the quislings who sold out the Baluch cause. Above all, they seek to magnify the achievements of their more successful rulers, contending that the Baluch were on the verge of consolidating political unity when the British arrived on the scene and applied their policy of divide and rule. This claim is difficult to sustain with much certainty on the basis of the available evidence. Nevertheless, the Baluch did make several significant attempts to draw together politically, and their failure to establish an enduring polity in past centuries does not prove that they would fail under the very different circumstances prevailing today. As Baluch writers argue, given the technologies of modern transportation and communication, the contemporary Baluch nationalist has new opportunities for cementing Baluch political unity that were not open to his forebears.

Genral Information About Baluch people & Baluchistan

Balochistan is located in the eastern part of the Middle East, linking Central Asian states with the Indian subcontinent, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

The Baloch landscape covers approximately 690,000 sq. km. Out of its total area about two hundred and eighty thousand (280,000) sq. km. is occupied by Iran, 350,000 sq. km by Pakistan (Including the Baloch populated districts of Sindh and Punjab) and some sixty thousand sq. km. (60,000) was given by the British imperial forces to Afghanistan under the Anglo-Afghan boundary commission decision in 1896. Balochistan commands more than 900 miles of the Arabian coast line and the Persian Gulf.

People

Population

The total population of Baloch is 13 to 15 million people. Although there are no independent figures about Baloch population in Iran, it is approximated at 4 million Baloch, who do not enjoy even limited political and cultural autonomy. The Baloch population is deliberately sidelined and marginalized in policy and practice by the occupant governments.

Language

The Baloch speak Balochi and Brahui derived from the Indo-European - and Dravidian branches of language respectively.

Culture and religion

The majority of Baloch are Sunni Muslims with small minorities of Shia and Zekri.
Balochs are ancient people. In 325 BC, as Alexander the great after his abortive India campaign, made his way back to Babylon through Makuran desert, the Greeks suffered greatly at the hands of marauding Balochs.

The poet Firdausi records them in the Persian epic, the Book of Kings, thus: ?Heroic Balochs and Kuches we saw/Like battling rams all determined on war. Ethnically, Balochs are no longer homogeneous, since the original nucleus that migrated from the Caspian Sea (Northern side of the plateau of Iran) has absorbed a variety of disparate groups along the way. Among these "new" Baloch were displaced tribes from Central Asia, driven southward by the Turkish and Mongol invasions from the tenth through the thirteenth centuries, and fugitive Arab factions defeated in intra-Arab warfare.

Nevertheless, in cultural terms, the Baloch have been remarkably successful in preserving a distinctive identity in the face of continual pressures from strong cultures in neighbouring areas.
Despite the isolation of the scattered pastoral communities in Balochistan, the Balochi language and a relatively uniform Baloch folklore tradition and value system have provided a common denominator for the diverse Baloch tribal groupings scattered over the vast area from the Indus River in the east to the Iranian province of Kerman in the west. To a great extent, it is the vitality of this ancient cultural heritage that explains the tenacity of the present demand for the political recognition of Baloch identity. However, the strength of Baloch nationalism is also rooted in proud historical memories of determined resistance against the would-be conquerors who perennially attempted, without success, to annex all or part of Balochistan to their adjacent empires.

Economy

Traditionally the people of Balochistan are farmers but in the coastal area fishery is also a source of living for them. Although Balochistan is rich in gas, oil, gold and other minerals and marine resources, as a result of being occupied and not trusted by the occupant regimes, the people of Balochistan are not benefiting from their vast resources and hence live in some of the poorest conditions in South East Asia.

Environmental problems

In May 1998, Pakistan carried out a series of nuclear tests in the Chagahi Hills region of Eastern Balochistan. It is widely accepted that high doses of radiation are harmful and can cause various diseases like leukaemia. The aftermath of atomic bomb explosions and fallout from nuclear weapons testing and radiation accidents are proof of this.

The fallout particles enter the water supply and are inhaled and ingested, affecting communities perhaps thousands of miles from the blast site.

The water supply of Chagahi region before the nuclear tests conducted in this area was in ample quantity but now people have come to the streets to protest against acute shortage of water in Chagahi town and its surrounding areas.

Staging of protests against shortage of water in scorching heat has become routine here in Chaghi area. An official of international aid agency Nasrullah Warraich who is posted in Chaghi, said the nearly forty per cent of population has started migration from Chagahi due to acute shortage of water. He said that people have come out onto the streets and started migrating from the area due to severe heat where no portable water is available for human beings or animals.

For an agricultural community a shortage of water in what were already parched desert conditions are detrimental to the livelihoods of thousands, which are further exacerbated by the absence of any other employment opportunities in the area.

Water shortages are merely one direct consequence of the nuclear testing with other more severe consequences yet to reveal in time as is still taking place in the aftermath of Chernobyl. What is awaiting future generations of Baloch in terms of exposure to radiation and the often accompanied birth defects, one can only wait and see.

History

Through most of their history the Baloch administered themselves as a loose tribal confederacy.
The current Balochistan is divided into three parts namely Northern Balochistan, Western Balochistan and Eastern Balochistan which are controlled respectively by the three countries of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

Some of the earliest human civilizations emerged in Balochistan. Mehrgar the earliest civilization known to mankind is located in Eastern Balochistan; the Kech civilization in central Makuran dates back to 4000 BC; The Burned city near Dozaap (Zahidan), the provincial capital of Western Balochistan, dates back to 2000 BC.

Among the most significant invasions of Balochistan was the Arab incursion in the seventh century AD, which brought far-reaching social, religious, economic and political changes into the region. In 644 AD an Arab army, under the command of Hakam, defeated the combined forces of Makuran and Sindh. The period of Arab rule brought the religion of Islam to the area. The Baloch tribes gradually embraced Islam, replacing their centuries-old religion.

During the anarchic and chaotic last phases of Arab rule, the Baloch tribes established their own semi-independent tribal confederacies, which were frequently threatened and overwhelmed by the stronger forces and dynasties of surrounding areas.

The period from 1400 to 1948 AD can be distinguished for the declining grip of the surrounding powers on Balochistan and the rise of Baloch influence. The predominance of Baloch socio-political and cultural institutions is the characteristic of this period. By the 18th century Kalat was the dominant power in Balochistan and the Khan of Kalat was the ruler of Balochistan.

The British first came to the region in 1839 on their way to Kabul when they sought safe passage. In 1841 they entered into a treaty with Kalat state. The British annexed Sindh in 1843 from the Talpur Mirs, a Baloch dynasty. In 1876, the British, however forced another treaty on the Baloch and forced the Khan of Kalat to lease Quetta city to them. The Khan's writ still ran over Balochistan, but now under the watchful eye of a British minister.

Historically, the British occupation of the Baloch State of Kalat in 1839 was perhaps the greatest event and turning point in Baloch history. From the very day the British forces occupied Kalat state, Baloch destiny changed dramatically. The painful consequences for the Baloch were the partition of their land and perpetual occupation by foreign forces.

In 1849, an Iranian army defeated Baloch forces in Kerman and captured Bumpur. The Baloch political status was changed radically in later decades, when in 19th century the British and Persian Empires divided Balochistan into spheres of influence, between the British Empire in India and the Persian Kingdom. The Anglo-Afghan wars and subsequent events in Persia in respect of ?the great game played out between Tsarist Russia and the British Empire further marginalized the Baloch people.

Baloch tribes in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century showed their disdain of the unnatural and unjust partition through their revolts against British and Persian rule. Gul Khan Naseer, a Baloch historian, writer and poet, wrote: "Due to the decisions of (boundary) Commissions more than half of the territory of Balochistan came under the possession of Iran and less than half of it was given to Afghanistan.

The factor for the division of a lord-less Balochistan was to please and control Iran and Afghanistan governments against Russia" in favour of Britain. In 1932, the Baloch Conference of Jacobabad voiced itself against the Iranian occupation of Western Baluchistan. In 1933, Mir Abdul Aziz Kurd, a prominent national leader of Balochistan, showed his opposition to the partition and division of Balochistan by publishing the first map of Greater Balochistan. In 1934, Magassi, the head of the Baloch national movement, suggested an armed struggle for the liberation and unification of Balochistan. However, it was a difficult task because of its division into several parts, each part with a different constitutional and political status.

The Baloch in Western Balochistan have been in constant rebellion against the domination and discrimination by chauvinistic policy of Persian regimes e.g.:
1. The revolt of Jask in 1873.
2. The revolt of Sarhad in 1888.
3. The general uprising in 1889.
4. A major uprising under Baloch chieftain Sardar Hussein Narui in 1896 provoked a joint Anglo-Persian expeditionary force to crush the struggle of Baloch. After two years Baloch resistance was defeated and Chief Narui was arrested.

The death of Muzzafar ul Din Shah and the declining power of the Qajar dynasty in Persia and furthermore the preoccupation of British Colonial army dealing with the Baloch uprisings in Eastern Balochistan gave the Baloch in the Western part prospects.

The Baloch tribal chiefs took this chance and began consolidating their hold on the Baloch territories in West Balochistan. In the beginning of the twentieth century Bahram Khan gained control of almost the entire central and southern region of Western Balochistan, ending the occupation of Baloch-lands. Ultimately in 1916 the British Empire recognized Bahram Khan as the effective ruler of Western Balochistan.

Bahram Khan?s nephew, Mir Dost Muhammed Khan Baloch succeeded his uncle. Mir Dost Muhammed consolidates his power and even then in year 1920 he proclaimed himself as ?Shah-e-Balochistan? (King of Balochistan). Sadly his attempts to further strengthen his power coincided with the rise of Reza Khan to power in Persia.

In the fatal year of 1928 the Persian forces began the annexation operation against Baloch forces, the battle continued for seven months and ended with the victory of the enemy over Baloch forces. The defeat of Baloch forces under the command of Mir Dost Muhammed Khan resulted in his capture. In year 1928 in a Tehran jail Mir Dost Muhammed Baloch was executed and Western Balochistan was finally annexed by the Persian Forces.

The defeat of Baloch forces and the execution of Mir Dost Muhammed Khan Baloch in 1928 by the Persian army symbolizes the annexation of Western Balochistan in Baloch history. Until the Shah's overthrow in 1979, the Baloch Nationalist Movement in Iran was a relatively insignificant force compared to the movement in Eastern or Pakistani Balochistan.

Due to suppression, the harsh methods that were used by Iranian security forces and persecution by SAVAC (the Iranian security secret police under the Shah), its leaders were forced to emigrate and operate underground from foreign countries. They had little ongoing contact with their widely scattered supporters inside Iran. Nevertheless, while it never amounted to much in organisational terms, the pre- 1979 nationalist movement proved to have great psychological importance.

The handful of Baloch activists who braved the Shah?s repression kept alive the spirit of resistance to Persian domination and thus directly set the stage for the resurgence of nationalist activities that took place after the overthrow of the Shah. A new political force emerged in Balochistan alongside traditional leaders comprising mostly of the educated young people. First they attempted to organise themselves but lack of political experience and ideological divisions soon disintegrated political workers into different political groupings, lessening their political importance.

Current Situation

In the Iranian controlled part of Balochistan, the Baloch are rapidly losing their identity. The previously Baloch-dominated regions of Bandar Abbas, part of Kerman, Seistan and Zabol are the most affected areas of the assimilation policy and efforts by the Persian state. Now in all these areas Balochs are a minority, even the capital city Dozzaap (Zahidan) does not look like a Baloch city. Balochs in Iran are completely excluded from the main structure of the political, social and economic establishments of the country.

The dissemination of Balochi culture and language is a declared act of treason against the state and is dealt with through brutal measures. Many army garrisons are permanently stationed in Baloch areas.

For most of the fifty years of Pahlavi rule, Tehran had to depend primarily on the use of overt military force to keep the Baloch areas under control, even when there was little co-ordinated insurgent activity. Mahmoud Khalatbary, who served as Director General of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), in a discussion with Selig S. Harrison (author of book ?Baloch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations?) recalled that: In CENTO, we always assumed that the Baloch would attempt to create their own independent state some day with Soviet support. So it was desirable to keep them as politically weak, disunited, and backward as possible.

This policy was implemented in practice so that in the last years of the Shah?s regime Balochistan was the poorest province ?with an estimated annual per capita income of $975, less than half of the $2200 national average for rural areas and less than one-fifth of the overall national average. Balochistan is still the poorest province in Iran, followed by Kurdistan. The demise of the Palavi dynasty and establishment of the Islamic Republic have not brought about any positive changes to the situation of the Baloch people, but rather have worsened the oppression.

Baloch people in Iran are treated as third class citizens, and are deprived of their cultural, social and economic rights.

Some highlights of Iranian government's chauvinistic policies are:

1) The use of the Balochi language is forbidden in public places and Baloch children are deprived of using their mother tongue as the medium of instruction at school. The Iranian government does not allow any kind of freedom of press in Balochistan.

2) Successive Iranian governments have been engaged in demographic manipulations to systematically reduce the population of Baloch people to a minority in their own homeland.
3) Government policy has been based on giving easy access and facilities to non-Baloch to purchase land at a cheap price and set up businesses.

4) The policy of keeping the Baloch backward has resulted in the lack of job opportunities and impoverishment of the entire Baloch population.

There is no Baloch representation in the central government in Tehran e.g. minister or even a Baloch deputy. The high ranking officials and decision makers in Balochistan are outsider or non-Baloch locals who have been helped to migrate from other areas. The successive Iranian regimes have never trusted Baloch even those who are willing to voluntarily corporate with the regime?s own conditions to represent Baloch in some high post.

5) The policy of Iranian governments in dealing with different sectors of Baloch society is based on ?divide and rule?. Baloch society traditionally is tribal and feudal. The Shah based its policies on using these different rival tribes or feudal families to keep its hold over Baloch society without giving any attention to the Baloch majority?s aspiration for social, economic and political justice. The Islamic regime of the ayatollahs, in addition plays the religious card, by dividing religious leaders and using them for its own purposes.

6) Women in Iran are in general considered second class citizens and not treated equally to men in any aspect of life. Baloch women are in a worse situation than their Persian and Shiite sisters because of national and religious differences. The Baloch are mostly Sunni Muslims. Iranian law does not give Baloch women adequate protection. Protection that is provided by the tribal system and Baloch tradition is not enough to give women their due share and equal right to participate in the development of a modern society, so women are the poorest segment in the Baloch society, suffering from gender, national and class discrimination and oppression.

7) The politic of the Iranian Government in Balochistan is characterised by human rights abuses. It has distorted political, economical and cultural development of Balochistan and insulted the human dignity of Baloch people. Balochs are discontent because they have not been allowed the right to use their native Balochi language. Balochs are disenchanted, as they do not receive any benefits from the resources found in their homeland.

They are disillusioned because of their economical exploitation that in the process are kept away from the power structure of the state. Balochs are disappointed because of religion manifestation, which used as a mean to assimilate Baloch nationality into Persian national identity in Iran. These basic realities have reinforced and frustrated Baloch?s general feelings.

Literature

Selig S. Harrison, In Afghanistan?s Shadow: Baloch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations, Carnegie Endowment for Peace, New York 1981.
Shahid Fiaz, Peace Audit Report 3, The Peace Question in Balochistan, South Asia Forum for Human Rights, Katmandu 2003.
Inayatullah Baloch, 1987, the Problem of Greater Balochistan, Stener Verlag Wiesbaden GMBH Stuttgart.

Khan, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, Inside Balochsitan, Maaref Printers Karachi, 1975.
Ahmad Ali Khan Waxir, Tarikh Kerman, p 65-66-, (In Persian).
Farhang- e Iran Zamin, Compiled and edited by: Iraj Afshar, Tehran 1990.
Dr Naseer Dashti, Baloch in Iran: What Option they have

Population: 19 - 15 million of which about 4.4 million in Iran

Baloch Hisotry

Balochistan is between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It traces its history from times immemorial. Before the birth of Christ, it had commerce and trade with ancient civilization of Babylon through Iran and into the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates. Alexander the Great also had an encounter with the Serbia tribe of Balochistan.

A Balochi war song describes the province of Balochistan thus: "the mountains are the Balochi's forts; the peaks are better than any army; the lofty heights are our comrades; the pathless gorges our friends. Our drink is from the flowing springs; our bed the thorny bush; the ground we make our pillow."

Balochistan is a land of contrast. It has places with rugged mountains like Chiltan, Takatu, Sulaiman, Sultan etc. and plains stretching hundreds of miles. It has fertile land such as in Nasirabad and the tracks which are thirsty for centuries in the Pat section of Sibi district and the Makran desert zone. It has hottest places in the country like Sibi and the cool towns like Quetta, Ziarat, Kan Mehtarzai and Kallat where temperature goes below freezing point and these areas remain under a thick cover of snow in winter.

Balochistan (or Baluchistan), also known as "Greater Balochistan" is an arid region which sits on the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia, presently split between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch (or Baluch, Balouch) tribes, an Iranian people, who moved in to the area from the west some time around 1000 A.D. The southern part of Balochistan is known as Makran.

Before the arrival of the Baluch, the region was populated by Pashtuns and Brahuis. The Pashtuns are now concentrated in Sibi, Bolan, Quetta, Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, Loralai, Zhob, Ziarat and Harnai. Many Brahuis live in Kalat. Languages spoken in the region include Balochi, Pashto, Persian, and Brahui.

Recent History

Pakistani Balochistan was conquered by the British Empire on October 1, 1887. In 1948, it became part of Pakistan. Since then, some separatist groups in the province have engaged in armed violence, first led by "Prince Karim Khan" in 1948, and later Nawab Nowroz Khan in 1968. These tribal uprisings were limited in scope. A more serious insurgency was led by Marri and Mengal tribes in 1973-1977. They have a view of "Greater Balochistan," presently split between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan as one independent state ruled under tribal jirgas (a tribal system of government).

Accession Problem 1948

The ruler of the Khanate of Balochistan, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan,might have been coerced by Jinnah to sign the document of accession. Balochi nationals support this claim, however critics dispute such claims as unrealistic and contrary to popular support for Jinnah, as the Khan of Kalat ruled even after death of Jinnah 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 (the Baloch constitution).

The incorporation of the Khanate resulted in a few anti-Pakistani rallies and meetings in certain areas of the Khanate. To subdue the anti-Pakistani sentiments, the Army of Pakistan was placed on alert. The Government of Pakistan decided to take complete control of the administration of Balochistan (Khanate) on 15 April 1948. The A.G.G. in Balochistan conveyed the orders of Mohammad Ali Jinnah that the status of the Khanate, "would revert back to what it was during the preceding British rule. Besides the policy of the central government of Pakistan towards the Khanate, Jinnah also refused to give Autonomy to Balochistan."

In April 1948, several political leaders from Balochistan such as Mohammad Amin Khosa and Abdul Samad Achakzai were arrested. The Anjuman-i-Watan Party (pro-congress), headed by Samad Achakzai, was declared unlawful.

First Baloch National Resistance 1948

Prince Abdul Karim Khan

The refusal to grant autonomy and the continued existence of the Sandeman system resulted in unrest. Thus, on the night of 16 May 1948, Prince Abdul Karim Khan, the younger brother of the Khan, decided to lead a national liberation movement.

He 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; the recognition of Sardar Bay Khan Gichki as a ruler of Makran by Pakistan upset him.

Beginning of Movement and Allies

He decided to migrate to Afghanistan in order to get help and to organize the liberation movement. Prince Karim wrote to the Khan on 28 June 1948 explaining the causes of his migration.

Some of the prominent political leaders who joined him were Mohamed Hussain Anka (the secretary of the Baloch League and the editor of Weekly Bolan Mastung) • Malik Saeed Dehwar (the secretary of the Kalat State National Party) • Qadir Bakhsh Nizamami, a member of the Baloch League and prominent members of the Communist Party, Sind-Balochistan branch, and Maulwi Mohd Afzal, a member of Jamiat-Ulm-e-Balochistan.

Plan of Action

The Baloch Mujahideen ( Baloch Holy Warriors), as they called themselves, entered Afghanistan and encamped at Sarlath in the Province of Kandahar. During their stay, the Baloch freedom fighters adopted the following measures to achieve their goal:

Sending of messages to the Baloch chiefs of Eastern and Western Balochistan asking them to join in the armed struggle;

Running of a truth revealing campaign in Balochistan, aimed at the educating the locals, teaching them to fight for their right,and fight as well as the enlistment of a national liberation force;

Searching for international support, particularly from contries who are supportive of democratic process and don't support army ruling over the country.

Messages were sent to Mir Ghulam Faruq of the Rudini tribe, Sardar Mehrab Khan, Sardar Mir Jumma, Mir Wazir Khan Sanjrani of Chagai, and several other chiefs. The propaganda campaign was to be carried out on two fronts: (A) The National Cultural Front. (B) The Religious Front.

Armed Struggle

Besides the cultural and religious campaign, the Prince also organized a liberation force called the Baloch Mujahedeen, consisting of the ex-soldiers and officers Of the Khanate’s army. The Prince was chosen as the supreme commander.

The Prince issued an appeal to personages to help with the recruitment. A person recruiting 100 men was offered the rank of a major and a person recruiting 50 men was entitled to the rank of captain. The Baloch liberation army had a secret agency called Jannisar (devotee), whose duty was to provide information, destroy the communication system, and watch the activities of traitors. In addition to this, there was a secret unit Janbaz (darer), to kill all traitors. The Janbaz were subordinate to the Jannisar. The headquarters of the agency was known as Bab-i-Aali (secret war-office) and headed by prince Karim. The total strength of Jannisar was recorded to be 30, while nothing is known about the strength of Janbaz.

Soviets and Afghans

However, the Prince did not start a war of liberation because of Afghanistan’s refusal and the silence of the Soviet Union concerning assistance. During his stay in Sarlath, Prince Karim appointed Malik Saeed and Qadir Bakhsh Nizamani as his emissaries to contact the Afghan Government and to approach other embassies in order to get moral and material support. According to Nizamani, the Afghan authorities refused to provide any sort of help and told them either to reside as political refugees at Kandahar or to return. The Afghan authorities also refused to permit the rebel group to operate from Afghan soil. Nizamami informed the Iranian Embassy of the Baloch demands as well.

Iranian diplomats showed their concern but did not offer any assistance, though they indicated their desire to provide, asylum to the rebel group in Iran. The last hope of the Prince’s representative was the Soviet Embassy. The Soviet diplomats listened to Nizamami carefully. Though they did not give any assurances, they did promise to inform Moscow. The Afghans, since the rise of Ahmad Shah, had treated Balochistan as a vassal state until the Baloch-Afghan war in 1758, when an agreement of ‘non-interference’ was signed between the parties. In the 19th century, Afghan rulers like Shuja and Amir Abdur-Rehman desired to occupy Balochistan. In 1947, the Afghan Government demanded the creation of Pashtunistan. Stretching from chitral and Gilgit to the Baloch coast in the Arabian Sea.The Afghan Government called Balochistan ‘South Pashtunistan’ in statements and publications. The Afghan expansionist policy reflected the economic considerations of a landlocked state. At the same time, it was impossible for the Afghan Government to neglect its own national interests and to support the movement of an independent Greater Balochistan,which claimed the Baloch region in Afghanistan. Stalin did not pursue Lenin’s policy in the East. Moreover, government of the Soviet Union was not ready to annoy the Afghans or the British, opponents of an independent Balochistan.

Prince Karim's Legitimacy outlawed

Meanwhile the Prince and his party were regarded as a rebel group by a Farman royal order issued by the Khan on 24 May 1948, stating that no connection of any sort with the Prince and his party should be maintained nor should they be helped with rations, and that if any member of the rebel group committed an offence, he would be punished. The Government of Pakistan moved the army to the military posts of Punjab. Chaman chashme,and Rastri near the Afghan borders aiming to control the rebels’ rations, which were being sent by the pro-liberation elements, as well as to control their activities or any attempt to invade. The Pakistan authorities confirmed two clashes between the army and the liberation forces.

To avoid popular unrest in Balochistan, the Khan sent his maternal uncles Hajji Ibrahim Khan and Hajji Taj Mohammed at Sarlath to bring Prince Karim back to Kalat. Khan made his return conditional . The Prince and the liberation movement failed to achieve internal and external support. Moreover, the Baloch nationalists were divided into two groups.Anqa and Malik Saeed favored armed struggle in the form of guerilla war, while Mir Ghous Bux Bizenjo and other prominent leaders wished to resolve all issues with dialogue.

The Return of Prince Karim

The Prince was forced to return to the Khanate and negotiate for his demands peacefully. On 8 July 1948, when the news of the Prince’s arrival reached Kalat, the Prime Minister, Mr.Fell, accompanied by a Kalat State Force, went to meet the Prince at Earboi to deliver the Khan’s message.

His Capture

Abdul Karim entered Balochistan with Afghan help and organized a rebellion against Pakistan in the area of Jallawan with the aid of Mir Gohar Khan Zahrri, an influential tribal leader of the Zarkzai clan. Further, it is stated that Major General Akbar Khan, who was in charge of the Seventh Regiment, was ordered to attack the insurgents and forced them to surrender. Prince Karim with his 142 followers were arrested and imprisoned in the Mach and Quetta jails. A detailed and interesting statement comes from General Akbar Khan, in his article published in the daily ‘Dawn’,dated 14 August 1960, under the title: "Early reminiscences of a soldier’. General Akbar confirms here that there was a plan to invade the Khanate and describes the clash between the Pakistan army and the liberation force headed by Prince Karim. Akbar says that Jinnah had issued instructions that this news should not be published in the press.

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 Quetta. He submitted his report on 12 September 1948. His report was based on the activities of the Prince and upon the letters and documents published by the liberation force. After the inquiry, R.K.Saker the District Magistrate at Quetta, appointed a special Jirga (official council of elders) consisting of the following persons:

1) Khan Bahador Sahibzada, M.Ayub Khan Isakhel, Pakhtoon from Pishin;

2) K.B. Baz Mohd Khan. Jogezai, Pakhtoon from Loralai;

3) Abdul Ghaffar Khan Achakzai, Pakhtoon from Pishin;

4) S.B. Wadera Noor Muhammad Khan, a Baloch Chief from Kalat;

5) Syed Aurang Shah from Kalat;

6) Sheikh Baz Gul Khan. Pakhtoon from Zhob;

7) Wahab Khan Panezai, Pakhtoon from Sibi;

8) Sardar Doda Khan Marri, Baloch from Sibi.

The 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 10 November 1948, the Jirga heard the testimony of the accused and gave its recommendations to the D.M. on 17 November 1948, suggesting the delivery of the Prince in Loralai at the pleasure of the Government of Pakistan and various other penalties. The D .M., in his order dated 27 November 1948, differed with the opinion of the Jirga and sentenced the Prince to ten years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 other members of his party were given various sentences and fines. Thus the Pakistan Government crushed the first armed struggle by Balochi insurgents

Here I might add an entry whenever I make an update to my web site. Where appropriate, I'll include a link to the change. For example:

11/1/01 - Added new photos to Vacation Album page.

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