Insurgency in Balochistan: Difference between revisions

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==Fourth conflict 1973-77 (led by Nawab Khair Baksh Marri)==
==Fourth conflict 1973-77 (led by Nawab Khair Baksh Marri)==
{{more|Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization}}
{{more|Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization}}
In 1972, major political parties from a wide spectrum of political ideology united against the government of [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] (the then [[President of Pakistan]]) and formed the [[National Awami Party]] NAP and demanded more representation for the ethnic Baloch in the government. This allegedly did not sit well with Bhutto's approach as he did not want his party, the [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP) to face strong opposition in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP, now [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]), seen by some as elitist and authoritarian{{Citation needed|reason=please cite where has he been mentioned as elitist?|date=July 2009}}. In February 1973, in the presence of news media in Islamabad, the police opened a consignment of Iraqi diplomatic pouches containing arms, ammunition and guerrilla warfare literature(which was never proved even Iraqi claimed that it was not for Pakistani Balochistan;it was for Iranian Baloch to fight against Iran). The Pakistani intelligence agencies claimed these arms were en route to the Baloch ([[Marri]]) insurgents of Balochistan. Citing treason, Bhutto was looking for such reasons for a time, subsequently he dismissed the provincial governments of Balochistan and NWFP as both these provinces had governments not run by his party and were creating trouble for his autocratic rule.He imposed governor's rule in both of them.<ref>The State of Martial Rule, [[Ayesha Jalal]], Sang-e-Meel 1999 ISBN 969-35-0977-3 page 40.</ref> Dismissal of the provincial governments led to armed insurgency. [[Khair Bakhsh Marri]] formed the [[Balochistan People’s Liberation Front]] (BPLF) which led large numbers of Marri and Mengal tribesmen into guerrilla warfare against the central government.<ref>Hassan Abbas, Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2005) p.79</ref> According to some authors, the Pakistani military lost 300 to 400 soldiers during the conflict with the Balochi separatists lost about 9ooo men,<ref name="Erols">[http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat6.htm Eckhardt, SIPRI 1988: 6,000 military + 3,000 civilians = 9,000, Clodfelter: 3,300 govt. losses]</ref> while the Balouch lost 7,300 separatists, during this period are estimated at 8,000.<ref name="Erols" /> Bhutto was deposed by General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] in 1977, and the conflict formally ended when new [[martial law administrator]] General [[Rahimuddin Khan]] declared a [[amnesty|general amnesty]] for belligerents willing to give up arms.Shortly thereafter, Rahimuddin oversaw a complete [[withdrawal (military)|military withdrawal]].He ruled Balochistan for a decade,during which Balochistan was most stable,economially and politically,in all of its history.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahimuddin_Khan</ref>
In 1972, major political parties from a wide spectrum of political ideology united against the government of [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] (the then [[President of Pakistan]]) and formed the [[National Awami Party]] NAP and demanded more representation for the ethnic Baloch in the government. This allegedly did not sit well with Bhutto's approach as he did not want his party, the [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP) to face strong opposition in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP, now [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]), seen by some as elitist and authoritarian{{Citation needed|reason=please cite where has he been mentioned as elitist?|date=July 2009}}. In February 1973, in the presence of news media in Islamabad, the police opened a consignment of Iraqi diplomatic pouches containing arms, ammunition and guerrilla warfare literature(which was never proved even Iraqi claimed that it was not for Pakistani Balochistan;it was for Iranian Baloch to fight against Iran). The Pakistani intelligence agencies claimed these arms were en route to the Baloch ([[Marri]]) insurgents of Balochistan. Citing treason, Bhutto was looking for such reasons for a time, subsequently he dismissed the provincial governments of Balochistan and NWFP as both these provinces had governments not run by his party and were creating trouble for his autocratic rule.He imposed governor's rule in both of them.<ref>The State of Martial Rule, [[Ayesha Jalal]], Sang-e-Meel 1999 ISBN 969-35-0977-3 page 40.</ref> Dismissal of the provincial governments led to armed insurgency. [[Khair Bakhsh Marri]] formed the [[Balochistan People’s Liberation Front]] (BPLF) which led large numbers of Marri and Mengal tribesmen into guerrilla warfare against the central government.<ref>Hassan Abbas, Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2005) p.79</ref> According to some authors, the Pakistani military lost 300 to 400 soldiers during the conflict while the separatists lost about 9000 men.Bhutto was deposed by General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] in 1977, and the conflict formally ended when new [[martial law administrator]] General [[Rahimuddin Khan]] declared a [[amnesty|general amnesty]] for belligerents willing to give up arms.Shortly thereafter, Rahimuddin oversaw a complete [[withdrawal (military)|military withdrawal]].He ruled Balochistan for a decade,during which Balochistan was most stable,economially and politically,in all of its history.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahimuddin_Khan</ref>


==Fifth conflict 2004 - to date (led by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Mir Balach Marri)==
==Fifth conflict 2004 - to date (led by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Mir Balach Marri)==

Revision as of 11:30, 8 August 2010

Balochistan conflict

Frontier between Balochistan and Afghanistan before the Durand agreement of 1893.
DateIn Pakistan, 1948 – present.
In Iran, 2003 - present
Location
Balochistan
Result

Ongoing

Belligerents
Pakistan Pakistan
Supported by:
Iran Iran[1]		 File:Flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army.svg Balochistan Liberation Army
Baloch Liberation Front
Baluch People's Liberation Front
Popular Front for Armed Resistance
Supported by:
Jundallah[2]
Iraq Iraq[3]
Afghanistan Afghanistan[4][5]
Commanders and leaders

Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Magsi
Pakistan Tikka Khan
Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Pakistan Rahimuddin Khan

Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Iran Mohammad Ali Jafari
Iran Noor Ali Shooshtari †
Iran Rajab Ali †

Prince Karim Khan (POW)[6]
File:Flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army.svg Khair Bakhsh Marri
File:Flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army.svg Nowroz Khan †
File:Flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army.svg Akbar Bugti †

Abdolmalek Rigi (POW)
Muhammad Dhahir Baluch[7]
Strength

Pakistan Army: 50,000[8]
Pakistan Frontier Corps: 30,000[8]

Iran Military of Iran:5,000[citation needed]
Iran IRGC:2600[citation needed]

File:Flag of the Balochistan Liberation Army.svg BLA: 10,000[9]

Jundallah: 2,000[10]
Casualties and losses
about 500 pak[citation needed]
250 iranian[citation needed]		 about 5,000+ fighters killed[citation needed]
~1,000 civilians killed
~4,500 Arrested
~140,000 Displaced[8](2004-2005 Casualties)

The Balochistan conflict is an ongoing conflict between Baloch nationalists and the government of Pakistan over Balochistan, the country's largest province.[11] Recently, separatists have also clashed with Iran over its respective Baloch region, which borders Pakistan. Pakistan has often alleged the rebels are supported by rival India, which has been denied.

Shortly after Pakistan's creation in 1947, the Pakistan Army had to subdue insurgents based in Kalat from attempting to secede in 1948 as well as 1958. The movement gained momentum during the 1960s, and amid consistent political disorder, the government ordered a military operation into the region in 1973, assisted by Iran, and inflicted heavy casualties on the separatists. The movement was largely quelled after the imposition of martial law in 1977, following which Balochistan witnessed significant development. After insurgency groups again mushroomed in the 1990s and 2000s, the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the war in North-West Pakistan have exacerbated the conflict, most recently manifest in the targeted killings of non-Baloch settlers in the province by separatists since 2006.

Area of dispute

Distribution of Balochs is marked in pink.

Historical Balochistan comprises the Balochistan region. In the west, is the southern part of Sistan o Baluchestan province, Iran. In the east is Pakistani Balochistan. In the north is the Helmand province of Afghanistan. The Gulf of Oman forms its southern border. Although it is the largest (44% of the country's area) region of Pakistan, it is the least populated (only 5% of the population) and the least developed area.[12]

Main characters

There are four distinct parties involved and affected by this conflict:

  • Central government of Pakistan (since 1948)
  • Government of Iran (since 2003)
  • People of the region
  • Sardars (Tribal chiefs)

First conflict 1948 (led by Prince Abdul karim khan)

In April 1948 the Baloch nationalists claim that the central government sent the Pakistan army which allegedly forced Mir Ahmed Yar Khan to give up his state,Kalat.The state was a landlocked British protectorate that roughly made up 22%-23% of Balochistan.Mir Ahmed Yar Khan signed an accession agreement ending Kalat's de facto independence. His brother, Prince Abdul Karim Khan,was a powerful governor of a section of Kalat,a position that he was removed from after accession.He decided to initiate an insurgency against Pakistan .On the night of May 16, 1948 Prince Abdul Karim Khan initiated a separatist movement against the Pakistan government. Basing himself in Afghanistan he conducted guerrilla warfare against the Pakistan army[13]. On the night of May 16, 1948 Prince Abdul Karim Khan, decided to lead a separatist movement against the Pakistan government.

The Prince 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."

Second conflict 1958-59 (led by Nawab Nowroz Khan)

Nawab Nowroz Khan took up arms in resistance to the One Unit policy which was responsible for the tribal leaders facing a loss of power as a result as their representation was smaller in the government when the One Unit policy was in place.He and his followers started a guerilla war against Pakistan. Noroz khan & followers were charged with treason and arrested and confined in Hyderabad jail. Five of his family members (sons and nephews) were subsequently hanged under charges of aiding murder of Pakistani troops and treason. Nawab Nowroz Khan later died in captivity.[14]

Third conflict 1963-69 (led by Sher Mohammad Bijarani Marri)

After the second conflict the Federal government sent the Army to build new military bases in the key trouble areas of Balochistan to resist further chaos. Sher Mohammad Bijarani Marri led like-minded militants to start a guerrilla warfare against the establishment of these posts by creating its own posts of insurgency spreading over 45,000 miles (72,000 km) of land from the Mengal tribal area in the south to the Marri and Bugti tribal areas in the north against Pakistan's refusal to share revenue generated from the Sui gas fields with the tribal leaders. The insurgents bombed railway tracks and ambushed convoys. The Army retaliated by destroying vast areas of the Marri tribe's land. This insurgency ended in 1969 and the Baloch separatists agreed to a ceasefire.Yahya Khan abolished the "One Unit" policy and[15] This eventually led to the recognition of Balochistan as the fourth province of West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan) in 1970,containing all the Balochistani princely states, the High Commissioners Province and Gwadar, an 800 km2 coastal area purchased by the Pakistani Government from Oman.

Fourth conflict 1973-77 (led by Nawab Khair Baksh Marri)

Further information: Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization

In 1972, major political parties from a wide spectrum of political ideology united against the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (the then President of Pakistan) and formed the National Awami Party NAP and demanded more representation for the ethnic Baloch in the government. This allegedly did not sit well with Bhutto's approach as he did not want his party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to face strong opposition in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), seen by some as elitist and authoritarian[citation needed]. In February 1973, in the presence of news media in Islamabad, the police opened a consignment of Iraqi diplomatic pouches containing arms, ammunition and guerrilla warfare literature(which was never proved even Iraqi claimed that it was not for Pakistani Balochistan;it was for Iranian Baloch to fight against Iran). The Pakistani intelligence agencies claimed these arms were en route to the Baloch (Marri) insurgents of Balochistan. Citing treason, Bhutto was looking for such reasons for a time, subsequently he dismissed the provincial governments of Balochistan and NWFP as both these provinces had governments not run by his party and were creating trouble for his autocratic rule.He imposed governor's rule in both of them.[16] Dismissal of the provincial governments led to armed insurgency. Khair Bakhsh Marri formed the Balochistan People’s Liberation Front (BPLF) which led large numbers of Marri and Mengal tribesmen into guerrilla warfare against the central government.[17] According to some authors, the Pakistani military lost 300 to 400 soldiers during the conflict while the separatists lost about 9000 men.Bhutto was deposed by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, and the conflict formally ended when new martial law administrator General Rahimuddin Khan declared a general amnesty for belligerents willing to give up arms.Shortly thereafter, Rahimuddin oversaw a complete military withdrawal.He ruled Balochistan for a decade,during which Balochistan was most stable,economially and politically,in all of its history.[18]

Fifth conflict 2004 - to date (led by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Mir Balach Marri)

In 2005, the Baluch political leaders Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Mir Balach Marri presented a 15-point agenda to the Pakistan government. Their stated demands included greater control of the province's resources,and a halt to the building of military bases.[19]

Some political party members, students, doctors and tribal leaders are alleged to have been detained by government security forces, many disappearing for years, majority is still missing mainly due to their links to foreign agencies and terrorist activities. As of 2008,The BLA has also claimed responsibility for conducting systematic ethnic genocide against unarmed Punjabi civillians,or people with Punjabi blood,most of whom are fourth or fifth generation inhabitants of Balochistan.Most of the victims are educationalists,lecturers,barbers and doctors.They are said to be spies by the BLA.The latest in the series of victims was an aged female lecturer who had been serving in the Balochistan University since its inception.She was shot in the head because she had ancestral connections to Punjab.The ethnic genocide against Punjabis has claimed almost 500 victims.

On 15 December 2005, Inspector-General of Frontier Corps Maj Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar and his deputy Brig Salim Nawaz (the current IGFC) were wounded after shots were fired at their helicopter in Balochistan province. The provincial interior secretary later said that "both of them were wounded in the leg but both are in stable condition." The two men had been visiting Kohlu, about 220 km (135 miles) south-east of Quetta, when their aircraft came under fire. The helicopter landed safely.[20]

In August 2006, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, 79 years old, was killed in fighting with the Pakistan Army in which at least sixty Pakistani soldiers and 7 officers were killed. He was charged by Pakistan's government of a series of bomb blasts, killings of the people he professed to protect (the Baloch in a series of bomb blasts and tribal genocide against rivaling Baloch tribes in Bugti territory) and the rocket attack on the President Pervez Musharraf.[21]

In April 2009, Baloch National Movement president Ghulam Mohammed Baloch and two other nationalist leaders (Lala Munir and Sher Muhammad), were seized from a small legal office and were allegedly "handcuffed, blindfolded and hustled into a waiting pickup truck which is in still use of intelligence forces in front of their lawyer and neighboring shopkeepers."The gunmen were allegedly speaking in Persian (a national language of neighboring Afghanistan and Iran) Five days later on April 8 their bodies, "riddled with bullets" were found in a commercial area.The BLA claims Pakistani forces were behind the killings,though international experts have deemed it odd that the Pakistani forces,if behind the killings, would be careless enough to allow the bodies to be found so easily and 'light Balochistan on fire'(Herald).[22] were found in the countryside, sparking "rioting and weeks of strikes, demonstrations and civil resistance" in cities and towns around Balochistan[23]. (See Turbat killings).

On August 12, 2009, Khan of Kalat Mir Suleiman Dawood declared himself ruler of Balochistan and formally made announcement of a Council for Independent Balochistan. The Council's claimed domain includes "Baloch of Iran",apart fron Pakistani Balochistan,but does not include Afghani Baloch regions,and the Council contains "all separatist leaders including Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti." He claims that "the UK had a moral responsibility to raise the issue of Balochistan’s illegal occupation at international level."[24]

Pakistan has accused India of supporting Balochi Rebels

Although Pakistan has repeatedly accused that India is supporting the Baluch rebels in order to destabilize the country, no concrete evidence has been provided. India continues to deny the accusations and neutral countries support India's stand. The facts are controversial, but Pakistan still continues to insist.[25].

The biggest attacks of the terrorist group Jundallah in Iran

Development

Steps are being taken for industrialization of the province and industrial zones are planned along the new Gawadar-Karachi highway. This development is envisaged to bring accelerated progress in the future for the Baloch.Steps are also being taken to boost Balochistan's small agricultural sector and to provide incentives to Balochi farmers.Progress in this sector has been repeatedly hampered by the BLA.On the third of May 2004 Three Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project that would enable irrigation for poor Baloch farmers as part of Pakistani government's initiatives to develop Baloch agricultural capacity were killed while another 11 injured in a car bomb attack by BLA.China called back her engineers working on the project in Balochistan.The progress in the hydro-power sector has been slow since then.Despite initiatives on part of the Government of Pakistan,Mir Suleiman Dawood claims that the people in Balochistan remain deeply resentful of Pakistan's policies in the region and he,apart from other,rather militant,Baloch nationalist organizations have openly called for India's assistance in Balochistan's separation from Pakistan.On August 12, 2009, Khan of Kalat Mir Suleiman Dawood declared himself ruler of Balochistan and formally made announcement of a Council for Independent Balochistan. The Council's claimed domain includes "Baloch of Iran",apart fron Pakistani Balochistan,but does not include Afghani Baloch regions,and the Council contains "all separatist leaders including Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti." [26].

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.rferl.org/content/Jundallah_Profile_Of_A_Sunni_Extremist_Group/1856699.html
  2. ^ http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Offers_ShortTerm_Solutions_To_LongTerm_Problems_Of_Baluch_Minority/1858243.html
  3. ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EA25Df01.html
  4. ^ http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=105163&sectionid=351020401
  5. ^ http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=35800&tx_ttnews[backPid]=26&cHash=1a2d01ef7a
  6. ^ http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/k/kalat.html
  7. ^ http://www.alarabonline.org/english/display.asp?fname=2010\02\02-27\zalsoz\915.htm&dismode=x&ts=27/02/2010%2009:26:35%20%C5%90
  8. ^ a b c "europe-solidaire.org". europe-solidaire.org. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ http://maloykrishnadhar.com/balochistan-cruces-of-history-part-ii
  10. ^ http://criticalppp.org/lubp/archives
  11. ^ BBC News- Balochistan reaches boiling point
  12. ^ Technical Assistance Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Balochistan Economic Report http://www.adb.org/Documents/TARs/PAK/39003-PAK-TAR.pdf
  13. ^ Owen Bennett Jones, Pakistan: Eye of the storm (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002) p.133
  14. ^ Selig S Harrison, In Afghanistan’s Shadow, pp.27-28
  15. ^ "Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan," International Crisis Group, Asia Report No. 119, p.4
  16. ^ The State of Martial Rule, Ayesha Jalal, Sang-e-Meel 1999 ISBN 969-35-0977-3 page 40.
  17. ^ Hassan Abbas, Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2005) p.79
  18. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahimuddin_Khan
  19. ^ In Remote Pakistan Province, a Civil War Festers, NYT, April 2, 2006
  20. ^ "Pakistan general hurt in attack" BBC News, 15 December 2005
  21. ^ Tribal Leader's Killing Incites Riots, New York Times, August 28, 2006
  22. ^ Another Insurgency Gains in Pakistan By CARLOTTA GALL. July 11, 2009
  23. ^ Riots as Baloch chiefs found dead BBC, April 9, 2009
  24. ^ http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/12-Aug-2009/Council-of-Independent-Balochistan-announced
  25. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-evidence-that-india-aiding-pak-baloch-rebels/466814/
  26. ^ "Balochistan reaches boiling point". BBC News. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-04-26.

External links

Video links

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