The Baloch Insurgency

From the very existence of Pakistan, Balochistan has been ignored and treated as a foster child. This was the attitude of the previous British rulers, and it is the same adopted by our present masters who are in no way different from the previous rulers. The last ruler of the Kalat state, Khan Ahmedyar Khan, was militarily attacked because he wanted to utilise his right of option according to the state’s agreement with the British government at the time of partition whereby a choice was given to the princely states of undivided India either to join India or Pakistan or be independent. The Khan of Kalat chose to be independent. Almost half of his state was forcefully plucked away from him, and a new state of Makran was carved out of it, with a Gichki sardar elevated to a state ruler. Legally, technically and constitutionally he was within his right to choose the option.

As far as Pakistan was concerned, it was quite understandable that after the creation of Pakistan it would not have been in their interest to have an independent state of Kalat in Balochistan within the overall boundaries of Pakistan; but was violence the right way to solve the problem? Could reason, negotiation and diplomacy not be used? Dissatisfaction has reached a level that today the youth are so agitated that they do not even allow the national anthem to be sung in schools.

Insensitive violence and injustice were perpetrated on the people of East Pakistan in the past, and the result was that we lost half of the country due to our government’s heedless and incautious adventures. Do we intend to repeat that history with another province? It is not the Baloch who seek to be the secessionists; it is the inequitable, unjust, improper and rash actions of the government authorities against them that have reluctantly made them to ponder in this direction. All that the Baloch want is justice. They want all their kidnapped men and women to be expeditiously recovered. They want all their political prisoners against whom no cases are pending to be released. They want fair and reasonable control over their mineral and sea resources. They want infrastructure to be constructed all over the province to be able to invite foreign investment to develop their resources and provide jobs for them. They want the armed forces to be withdrawn from Sui and other areas of Balochistan. They want that all the major projects that are initiated or planned for the near future should be done so with their consultation. And they want a due share in all provincial and federal government jobs. Who then is being unreasonable? The Baloch or the government/state?

A H Aliani

Former ambassador (and grandson of former ruler of Lasbela state)