Baluchistan Is Not Pakistan

In the last few weeks there is sudden upsurge in Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) attacks targeting non-Baluchi Pakistanis migrant workers (Punjabis, Sindhis and Pakhtoons), police stations and the Chinese interests, killing over 80 people, coinciding with the 18th death anniversary of the Baluch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti killed in General Musharraf presidency. Why Baluchistan is on the boil is discussed in the succeeding paras of my article below.

Before partition, India’s international border (IB) extended up to Iran with whom then our country shared through its south-western Baluchistan (or Balochistan) province. Geographically, Baluchistan consists of the remote, barren, harsh, arid, dry and dusty Pakistani province of Baluchistan, the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and the Afghani territory of Baluchistan.

Baluchistan, the wild south-west of Pakistan, is the largest and ironically the most backward province of the country. Only the hardiest and the most adventurous people can survive in this part of the wilderness where most of the population is Baluchi, Brahvi and Pashtun tribal nomads and inter and intra tribal rivalries and wars are the normal norms. The nomads migrate to hills in summers with their camels, goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and milching cattle, staying in tents and huts made of mud and twigs, returning back to plains in winters. Numerous war like tribes inhibiting in hamlets, due to rugged terrain and harsh climate are some of the toughest, bravest and fiercely independent under command of tribal chiefs whose writ overshadows that of the provincial and federal governments. Quetta, the provincial capital is the only worth town and military cantonment where erstwhile Defence Services Staff College was located till partition,  while the rest of the province has mostly settlements in hamlets, villages and small towns around oases interspersed with vast deserts and rugged mountains. 

Pakistani province of Baluchistan is enclosed by the Arabian Sea in the south, Iran in the west, Afghanistan in the north and Sind and Punjab in the east, with tribal and nomadic population. Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, Scythians, the Arabs, the Mughals, the Baluchis in 15th century and the Britishers became interested in this vast region to wage Anglo-Afghan Wars. Though the largest backward province of Pakistan, it has only 5% of Pakistani population, mostly poor nomadic with vast amounts of minerals, gas and crude resources that do not benefit the sons of the soil. The tribal chiefs and warlords always had big hold on their tribes, maintaining private armies, tribal courts and collection of taxes. By 1887 almost half of Baluchistan was under the direct British control and it was not considered part of India as the British control was not direct and with Iran British divided Baluchistan into many parts, creating the Baluchistan Agency in the Indian Baluchistan leading to feuds between the western Baluchistan and the Persian occupants. At the time of partition of India, except Mir Ahmad Yar Khan of Kalat, the most of the tribal chiefs joined Pakistan, who was forced to join Pakistan by the end of 1948. As all the tribal chiefs still wielded considerable powers, the central and provincial administration had always been weak and since Pakistan has intensified terrorist attacks in J&K, India needs to exploit this weakness making its strength to launch proxy wars in this disturbed tribal belt wanting independent Baluchistan from the Pakistani clutches. The highly rich mineral resources are being exploited recklessly by the migrant Punjabis and Pashtuns leading to considerable resentment amongst the Baluchi locals. However, there is distinct difference in the Baluchi struggle for independence as, they being Sunni Muslims overplay Baluchi national identity over their Sunni Muslim identity.   

Pakistan has ceded large chunks of the illegally occupied POK territories to China for the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). To ensure it does not construct the corridor in any disputed territory as the POK and the northern areas are claimed by India as part of J&K, China has dwelt over Pakistan to constitutionally declare the Gilgit-Baltistan and the  Northern Areas as the  5th province of the Pakistan. According to an article by Syed Irfan Raza on 18 Oct 2016 in the Pakistani newspaper the Dawn, the Upper House of Pakistan’s National Assembly had expressed the fear that the China-Pakistan 3,200 km long CPEC could turn into another East India Company if the country’s interests were not actively protected. According to article published in The Financial Express dated 22 Jul 2017, CPEC represents colonization of Pakistan for enrichment of China as it will give it and the Central Asia access to Africa,

Europe and America through the deep-sea southernmost Gwadar port in Baluchistan and let China exploit natural gas, copper and other mineral resources at the cost of exploitation of Baluchis to whom these legitimately belong.  Much of the Chinese 20 billion dollars aid for construction of the Gwadar Port and another 50 billion dollars aid to construct the CPEC from its Muslim dominated province of Xinjiang (Kashgar) is being given not for free lunches but to enrich Chinese coffer by trade, commerce and exploitation of the Baluchis natural resources through a network of highways, railways, pipelines and the port to exploit the poorest Baluchis who can hardly ill afford passing them to the Chinese! Only the Chinese technicians,  equipment and security personnel are being deployed for the construction and security of the entire project and no jobs have been created for locals much to their discontentment. There is too much secrecy on the project and not much is in the public domain and many in Pakistan fear its heavy burden will eventually fall on poor Pakistani citizenry as not many jobs or tariff for the locals are being generated. Many feel more than economic considerations, the CPEC has greater geo-strategic advantages for the emerging superpower China in deployment and logistics support of large numbers of troops in future warfare.

Many fear the bonhomie between the superpower China and the weaker Pakistan may eventually lead in unification of the Pakistan as the 24th province of China! Rightly, as reported in the Dawn dated 12 Mar 2017, the CPEC gift horse from China, may turn out to be Trojan horse for Pakistan!  According to Mail Today dated 1 Aug 2017,  POK is turning into COK (China Occupied Kashmir). The Baluchi separatists are opposed to the Chinese ingress in their province. On 23 Nov 2018 three heavily armed militants from the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) targeted the Chinese consulate in Karachi and a suicide bomber attacked the bus carrying Chinese engineers in the Chaghi district of the Baluchistan. Very often the Pak government and the Army accuse India being behind these attacks. Fearing Baluchi militant attacks, CPEC has started constructing 10 feet high 30 km long fenced perimeter wall affixed with high resolution 500 HD CCTV cameras around Gwadar port city, creating immense discontentment amongst local Baluchi who allege Chinese were developing Gwadar into military, air and naval base and eventually annexe Pakistan resulting in gross human rights violations against them in their own land. While CPEC has not brought jobs and economic prosperity, they fear eventually exploitation and robbing of the minerals and their lands by the Chinese, Pashtun and Punjabi elements in Pakistan. Rich in natural resources, it is the largest and least developed province in Pakistan lacking basic amenities like electricity, clean drinking water, health and sanitation, roads, communication, education and basic democratic institutions and armed separatists demand independence and control over the rich natural resources and attacking the civilians, security forces, administration and those settled from the other Pakistani provinces. There have been serious human rights violations by the separatists and Pakistani government and there are no records of kidnappings, abductions, killings and custodial deaths as no first action reports (FIRs) are filed or cases investigated.

Ever since partition of the sub-continent in Aug 1947, till now, thousands of people have been killed/ abducted by Pakistani security forces (SFs). The killing of Baluch activist Karima Baluch recently, who escaping from Pakistan in 2016 took refuge in Canada, was found dead near Toronto's lakeshore in December 2020. She was the first female chairperson of the Baluch Student Organization and   Baluch National Movement spearheading fight for independent Baluchistan and Pakistani hand is suspected in her killing.  Meanwhile, around this time, Baluchi separatists had killed in the southwestern Baluchistan at least seven soldiers and injuring many more, perhaps avenging Karima Baluch’s killing in Canada. In an another barbaric human rights violation, the Islamic State (IS) claimed killing of 11 Shia Hazaras in Mach about 60 miles southeast of Quetta as reported in the Indian Express dated 4 Jan 2021 and filing of sedition cases against Baluch insurgents. Sajjid Hussain, Baluchi journalist founder and chief editor of the online paper Balochistan Times went missing on 2 March 2020 and his body was found in the Fyris River on 23 April 2020 in Sweden. Though Swedish police ruled out any foul play in his death by drowning, many suspect Pak hand in his killing.

Baluchi nationalists claim that the Muslims are not a nation-myth already shattered in 1971 by the creation of Bangladesh out of East Pakistan. Due to diverse language and ethnicity Baluchis are a separate nation. The separatist groups like the Baluch Liberation Front (BLF), the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), the Baluch National Front (BNF) and other insurgent groups operate in Baluchistan who have violently opposed plans to upset demography of the region by settling Afghan refugees, Punjabis, Pashtuns and Sindhis in Baluchistan. Sporadic but heavy fighting often takes place between the Baluch rebels and Pakistani SFs over these multifarious and complex issues in Baluchistan and Pakistan keeps accusing India of supporting rebels in the troubled province. Pakistan also suspects that along with India, the US, Afghanistan and Iran are supporting the ethnic tribal movement for independence and that the US has been bailing out India from its involvement in this troubled region. A few years back, the World Baluch Organisation (WBO) placed advertisements on taxis in London like ‘Save Baluchistan’ that were removed due to Pakistani pressure on the British government. Needless to say, China with heavy investment running through restive Baluchistan where its technicians working on numerous projects, is deeply concerned about CPEC security while Pakistan at the brink of economic crash struggles with its fewer friends as no one loves a terror state.

India’s Imperatives 

·  Baluchi people have a closer affinity with India than they have with Pakistan. The Baluchi leadership has time and again stressed the fact that if Baluchi people are devoted to secular Indian concepts, why cannot India openly say that it is lending moral support to Baluchi independence movement?  

· They also say, if Pakistan can openly equip, train, motivate, infiltrate and support financially anti national elements (ANEs) in Kashmir, then it is logical and fair India doing the same for the people of Baluchistan as it did for the liberation of Bangladesh. 

·  Though Baluchistan is province of Pakistan, the Baluchi people expressed their solidarity with India on its 73rd Independence Day requesting Indian support to free their land from the domination and occupation by Pakistan and its military establishment since 1948. 

· There are large number of separatist tribal groups and splinter sub groups operating in Baluchistan against Pakistan. While some influenced by the liberation of East Pakistan into Bangladesh in 1971 War, want independence, the others, more autonomy. India can effectively play major role to unite these groups towards independence. 

·  Baluchi people have reiterated India was not doing much to raise Baluchistan officially in all forms, including the United Nations. India should raise internationally the human rights violations by the Pakistani SFs. 

·Pakistan must ensure that rapid demographic changes being brought by the Pakistani government must stop to ensure Baluchi majority does not become minority in their own land. 

·India need to dwell on the Baluchi leadership to unite and elements like Baluchistan Liberation Front BLF), Baluchi Liberation army (BLA), Baluchi Republic Party (BRP and its armed wing  Baluch Liberation Army( BRP/BLA) 

· India should accord political recognition to the Baluchi struggle for independence. 

·Give asylum to Baluchi leaders and provide moral, physical, diplomatic, arms, ammunition, training and financial support. As of now it is the most active secessionist movement in the region.

·An independent Baluchistan, which  once was physically and emotionally  part of India, would meet the political, social, cultural and economic aspirations of the Baluchi people and also provide India opening for investment and building urgently needed projects like drinking water, roads, health and sanitation, education to ameliorate living standards of the remote, poverty stricken, backward masses and establish mutually beneficial trade links to rebuild region’s economy, neglected by Pakistan since its inception. Baluchistan can also augment India’s minerals and energy needs reciprocally beneficial to both the countries. 

·India needs to persuade upon United Nations (UN), the West, the US, the European Union (EU), Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the South East, the South Asian and the Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC)  Countries to address gross Pakistani human rights violations in Baluchistan considering its geo-strategic location, the undue Chinese interest and involvement through CPEC to dominate 

·Pakistan is cradle of the Mu the Arabian Sea and adversely affect regional security.  slim fundamentalist terrorism with global reach. India needs to make world aware of linkages between terrorism, Pakistan and its close friendship with China and other rogue states like North Korea.  

·It will contain China’s expansion and access to Arabian Sea and India will emerge as another power centre in the Middle-East and Asia-Pacific regions bringing much needed security, peace, development and tranquility.