AIM

TO HIGHLIGHT THE BALOCHISTAN SITUATION

 INTRODUCTION

Balochistan is a province to the west of pakistan, although it is the largest of

the countrys five provinces it is the most scarcely populated and most
backward.Since Pakistan's independence, tribal lords including Bugti, Marri
and Mengal have used tribal chiefs to keep Balochistani people backwards
and illiterate by systematically opposing any attempts to establish modern
educational institutions in their areas of influence,these all Sardar are
Educated from European and American Universities,but they still support
old traditions to keep peoples slave and who should respond on there calls.

It is not just These sadars even Pakistani government have not paid any
attention to area those are not under inluence of them Sadar,like Makran.
Where no effots were taken for 60 years, Makran is not ruled by any Sadar.
Strange thing ,Kuzdar University of Engineering is working under area of
these Lords.Pakistani government have not taken any steps leaveing one just
to kill them in name of BLA.

All this time Balochistani tribal chiefs managed to maintain different militias
such as Bugtis private militia in Dera Bugti, Marris Militia in Kohlu area
with Balochistan Liberation Army and Ataullah Mengal and his son Sardar
Akhtar Mengal also support to Balochistan Liberation Army which consists
of Balochistani tribal people. Pakistan Amry thinks that Balochistan
Liberation Army is claimed to be funded by India and its arms supposedly
flow into Baluchistan through the Pakistan-Afghanistan porous border.Till
many years Balochistan was not even consider as Provience beacuse they
had no local parliment system. In the 70's the Pakistan army with support of
Iran waged war against Balochistan Liberation Army and thousands of
Annocinet Balouch were killed just in search of Freedom fighters.

Balochistan's population consists of an equal mix between Pashtuns &

Balochi but Pashtuns enjoy a reasonable representation in the state &
military jobs of Pakistan and their more religious leaning makes them
mainly more pro-Pakistan, than pro-Baloch independence. It is widely
believed that the government of Pakistan needs to bring an end to the tribal
system and provide more job opportunities to the common Balochistani,in
the name of education outesider are being settled in different parts of
balouchistan turning majority of balouch area into minorties which threats
local tribemans. As such, steps are being taken for industrialisation of the
province and industrial zones are planned along the new Gawadar-Karachi
highway. This development is expected to bring accelerated progress in the
near future although uprisings against the decline of the tribal system will
probably accompany such a situation.
 HISTORY
When India (and the newly-created Pakistan) eventually gained
independence from the British in August 1947 provinces were given the
choice of either joining Pakistan or India or being independent, Khan of
Kalat Mir Ahmed Yar Khan declared Kalat's independence although the
district's chiefs and people sympathised with the idea,governor general Lord
Mountbatten decided that the provinces would not survive as independant
and that offer was taken of the table. In April 1948 the Pakistani army was
brought in, and Mir Ahmed Yar Khan signed an accession agreement ending
Kalat's de facto independence. His brother, Prince Karim Khan, decided to
carry on the struggle. Basing himself in Afghanistan he conducted a guerrilla
war against the Pakistani army.Later he was killed with many of his
supporters.

MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IN

BALOCHISTAN
 Balochistan National Party
 Brahui tribes

 Jamhoori Watan Party

 The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM)

The Balochistan National Party

The Balochistan National Party is a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan. Sardar

Ataullah Mengal is Chief of BNP and Party has popular support in
Balochistan province. Sardar Attahullah was first elected Chief Minister of
Balochistan province in 1972.

Sardar Mengal along with Nawab Marri and political leaders of Balochistan
sent to Jail. After spending four years in Jail Mr Mengal went to exile and
returned in 1996 and again revived the Party which sweep the 1997 election
in Balochistan province his son Sardar Akhtar Mengal sworn as Chief
minister of Balochistan province. On 28th May 1998, Pakistan military
tested its nuclear bomb in Balochistan BNP opposed the test on Baloch soil.

In 2002 election BNP members have been bared to take part in election
freely, which allowed MMA to win all moderate and nationalist
constituencies.

Presently BNP has two members in National parliament and two in

provincial.

Sardar Akhtar Mengal is president and party has central cabinet and central
committee comprised on 44 members from all over Balochistan.

Brahui tribes
Brahui are a tribal society settled in Balochistan in South western Asia. Balochistan
region is divided among Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The following is a partial list of major Brahui tribes.

 Bangulzai
 Banulzai
 Lango (tribe)
 Lehri
 Mashwani
 Mirwani
 Muhammad Shahi
 Muhammed Hasni
 Muhammed Shahi
 Raisani
 Sarpara
 Sasooli
 Shahwani
 Sumalani
 Zehri

Jamhoori Watan Party

(Republican National Party)

Republican National Party is a political party in the province of Balochistan, Pakistan.

At the last legislative elections, 20 October 2002, the party won 0.3 % of the popular vote
and 1 out of 272 elected members.

The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM)

The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) is an alliance of
Nationalist Parties of Pakistan comprising of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party,
Sindhi Awami Tehreek, Baluchistan National Movement, Pakhtoonkhwa
Milli Awami Party, Seraiki Movement.

Prominent Leaders of PONAM are Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Mehmood

Khan Achakzai, Rassol Bux Palijo, Dr. Qadir Magsi, Syed Jalal Mehmmood
Shah and other Sindhi, Baluch, Pashtun and Seraiki leaders. Although it is
not a political party, but a grouping of nationalist parties, they supported
each other candidates in election. They constitute a large group in
Balochistan provisional assembly. It is present in Sindh as well, but it is
more vibrant in Balochistan.

The Balochistan Issue

One day in Balochistan threatened to spin out of control. Hardly had the
news of the attack on off-duty soldiers in Khuzdar been absorbed when an
ambush of the convoy of Chief Minister Jam Yousaf, was reported, again in
the Khuzdar area. In the first incident, five soldiers and a civilian were
killed. In the latter, also blamed later on a misunderstanding, a police
bodyguard of the chief minister and one of the attackers, dressed in the
uniform of the Levies, the provincial militia, were killed.

This produced a carrot and stick response by the government. On the one
hand, Akhtar Mengal, an ex-chief minister, and others were charged in the
first Khuzdar incident. Nawab Khair Buksh Marri and his sons were named
as suspects in the case of a landmine explosion near Kohlu in the Marri area
in April this year. On the other hand, placatory noises were heard (amidst
some discordant threatening ones) from government spokespersons.

Background
The tribal leadership started voicing for unity of Baloch tribes and for an
independent Balochistan. National sentiments grew rapidly stronger and
after the arrest of Khan of Kalat in 1958, the tribesmen started a guerrilla
war, although on limited scale, against the government. The army was sent
to control the movement but its presence further deteriorated the situation.

Farrari Movement.

Mir Sher Muhammad Marri took the leadership of the movement which was
called Farrari Movement. This movement ended in 1969.

Main factors

Sui Gas

Gas was discovered in Sui around 1952. Since then, Pakistan has benefited
enormously from this cheap source of energy. Balochistan, however, neither
had gas for its own use nor was paid royalties which were its due till the
mid-1980s, when General Ziaul Haq was trying to mollify the Baloch
nationalists since he had his hands full with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's People's
Party. Even today, the only gas pipeline in Balochistan runs up till Quetta,
with a proposed pipeline to Khuzdar still to become a reality. The lack of
alternative fuel has denuded whatever little forest cover the arid province
had. Only under international environmentalists' pressure has the federal
government lately conceded the need for gas supply to Ziarat to save the
unique Juniper forest from extinction. The royalties being paid to
Balochistan for its gas are lower than those being paid for later discoveries
in Sindh and Punjab. This is cause of much
heartburn for the Baloch.

Given this background, it is easy to understand nationalist misgivings about

further exploration for gas and oil in the province. The tribes have been
resisting exploration activities without a fair share in gas and oil
development. Whatever little exploration activity has occurred in the past
has been either under the protection of military deployments or under
agreements with local chieftains. In the case of the latter, the exploration
companies have been accused by local people of bad faith and reneging on
promises of providing jobs, schools, healthcare and other social
infrastructure to the local populace.

The Saindak copper and precious minerals project was supposed to train and
employ local youth. Instead, after many false starts and remaining in limbo
for almost a decade because of the unwillingness of the federal authorities to
provide a paltry Rs 1.5 billion as working capital, the project has been
revived under Chinese management. The latter, who put up the project in the
first place, never forgot its export and earnings potential, and have a contract
to run it in return for 50 percent of the profits. Out of the remaining, 48 per
cent goes to the federal government and Balochistan receives 2 per cent.
There are no local youths trained or employed in the project as far as we
know another broken promise in a long line of similar disappointments.

Gwadar port

Gwadar port's strategic and economic value has never been in doubt. In fact
it was the Baloch nationalists, at that time in coalition with Nawaz Sharif,
who invited the former prime minister to announce the initiation of the
project at a rally in Gwadar. But subsequent developments have left these
very nationalists bitter. The master plan for the Gwadar port, city and
military base adjoining it have never been seen by either the chief minister
of the province or been laid for discussion in the Balochistan Assembly.
Along with other development work on the ground, the new Gwadar city has
turned out to be a major land grab for investors from outside the province, as
advertisements in the national and even international media show. Initially,
the federal authorities envisaged 2.5 million people being inducted from
outside the province. This has now climbed to 5 million. Given that the
population of the entire province is only 6-7 million, the people of
Balochistan are protesting that
this massive influx will swamp them, deprive them of a share in the
opportunities created by these mega-projects, and wipe out their identity
from the face of the earth.
 Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization

The Baloch Insurgency, were a series of secessionist rebellions in

Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, from 1973 to 1976.
Rahimuddin Khan's Stabilization was a series of administrative reform
and indirect military action aimed at undermining the 1970s insurgency by
the then-Martial Law dictator General Rahimuddin Khan from 1977 to 1984.
.

The secession of Bangladesh earlier in 1971 influenced Baloch nationalists

to demand "greater provincial autonomy" from the then-Prime Minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After Bhutto's refusal to negotiate on any terms, the
situation deteriorated into widespread civil disorder and armed uprisings,
calling for the secession of Balochistan in favor of an independent state.

With the overthrow of Bhutto's civilian government by a military

dictatorship under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, instability in
Balochistan decreased but was still substantial enough to threaten the
regional unity of Pakistan. To solve the problem with a hands-on approach,
General Zia set up a military regime, to act as a separate entity independent
of the central government, within Balochistan. General Rahimuddin Khan,
then Lieutenant General, was appointed Martial Law Administrator and
Governor over the regime, thus becoming the carte blanche dictator of the
province.

General Rahimuddin Khan's subsequent provincial policies in his capacity as

Governor (1978-1984), characterized by his distaste for appeasement and
authoritarian style of government, have come to be known as the
Stabilization of Balochistan. This is mainly due to his political success in
securing social stability and greatly decreasing, if not stopping, civil
disobedience movements within the province.

Coincidentally, the history repeated itself and Sardar Khair Bakhsh Khan
Marri (Chief of Marris now-a-days) went into voluntary self–exile and
reached Kabul in 1981

Balochistan Liberation Army

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is an organisation dedicated to fighting
for the independence of Balochistan. At the moment, sovereignty over the
region is split between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The indigenous
population are known as the Baloch, who typically follow the Hanafi school
of Sunni Islam and speak either Balochi or Brahui. The stated goals of the
organization include driving the Pakistani and Iranian military personnel
currently present in the territory out, and the establishment of a sovereign
Baloch government. The name Baloch Liberation Army first became public
in summer 2000, after the organisation claimed credit for a series of bomb
attacks. In 2006, the BLA was declared to be a terrorist organisation by the
Pakistani government.

Actions by the Baloch Liberation Army

 BLA has been declares as a terrorist organisation by Pakistani and
British governaments due to the terrorist activities carried out by it in
Balochistan.
 May, 2000: The orginasation claimed credit for three bombings of
government facilities, including the office of the Home Secretary in
Pakistani Balochistan]
 June, 2000: A number of bombs were detonated by BLA terrorists in
the commercial district of Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistani
Balochistan, an area often frequented by the Pakistani military
personnel. The explosions resulted in the deaths of 26 soldiers and 5
civilians, and the wounding of many others.
 July, 2000: Fifteen 82-mm mortar shells were fired from the Koh-i-
Murdar mountain range near Quetta, targeting the city's military
garrison. No official casualty report was issued by the Pakistani
 military to the press in Balochistan. Pakistani army garrison at Quetta
is blocked by check ponts no civilian can enter it, it is a big area
almost 10 Sq miles.
 Numerous deaths of soldiers have resulted from landmines planted by
BLA terrorists.
 Date 18-8-06.Asaap, newspaper reported that on Thursday 17 August
Pakistani army was conducting a search operation against BLA
fighters 12 kilometers away from Karmo Wadh, near Sibi. At the time
of operation Pakistani forces came under heavy barrage of rocket fire
from Baloch fighters, in which three Pakistani soldiers were killed and
seven became wounded. Names of the killed soldiers who died on the
spot are NCO Amjad Ali, NCO Tasawer Hussen and NCO Matloob
Hussen. Names of the critically wounded soldiers: Major Qaiser,
Hawaldar Anser, Corporal Mudser Hussen, NCO Majid Hussen, NCO
Ishfaq Ahmed, NCO Janzeb and NCO Ashraf , all the wounded were
shifted to CMH (Combined Military Hospital) Hospital Sibi. In an
other such incident 40 kilometers away from Sangsila at Bambore-
Top, Dera Bugti area. When Pakistani soldiers were digging trenches
on Bambore-Top suddenly a landmine blasted with a big bang. In
which Naib Subedar Kashmir Afridi and NCO Abdul Khaliq Afridi
died on the spot, and five soldiers were critically wounded (names of
the wounded were not confirmed).
 News, 25,August,2006. Four tribal militants were killed on Friday as
security forces used helicopter gunships to launch another operation in
parts of Kohlu district. Two members of the security forces were also
killed while an officer was injured. Reports reaching here from Kohlu
said the security forces moved in to Karmo Wadh and Tartani areas
 near Kahan and used helicopter gunships to attack militants? hideouts.
The operation was launched two days ago, they added.

Akbar Bugti

(July 12, 1927–August 26, 2006) was the Tumandar (head) of the Bugti
tribe of Baluch and served as governor of Balochistan Province in Pakistan.
An Oxford-educated man in a land of widespread illiteracy, he was a
towering personality in Baloch politics for more than five decades.

After an armed struggle started in Balochistan in 2004, Bugti was widely

perceived as a leader but went underground in 2005. On August 26, 2006,
after several attempts were made on his life in the preceding months he was
killed in his cave in Kohlu, about 150 miles east of Quetta, leading to
widespread unrest in the area, where he is widely regarded as a hero and
martyr.

With names such as The Tiger of Balochistan, The Trade Unionist, or Gas Man
(supposedly having ownership of many gasfields), he was a towering figure in the Baloch
world. The longstanding conflict in Balochistan stems from the quantum of autonomy the
province was promised when they joined Pakistan in 1947 and then under the 1973
Pakistani constitution. Today a large faction continues to campaign, sometimes violently,
for an autonomy which Baluchistan's citizens believe to be their due under the promises
made to them by various Pakistani leaders. The BLA is painted by the Pakistani
government as a "great threat" to law and order in Balochistan and was recently banned
by the Government of Pakistan as well as by the United Kingdom.

Bugti, meeting with Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Akbar Bugti was the son of Nawab Mehrab Khan Bugti and a grandson of
Sir Shahbaz Khan Bugti. He was born in Barkhan on July 12, 1927. He was
educated at Oxford, England and Aitchison College, Lahore. It is alleged
that he committed his first murder when he was only 12 and that he had
several men killed to avenge the assassination of his son, (Salal Bugti).

Nawab Akbar Bugti was elected in a by-election to the National Assembly of

Pakistan in May 1958 to fill the vacancy created as a result of the
assassination of the incumbent, Dr Khan Sahib, and sat on the government
bench as a member of the ruling coalition.

Bugti (Republican) served as Minister of State (Interior) in the government

of Prime Minister Malik Sir Feroz Khan Noon (Republican) from September
20, 1958, to October 7, 1958, when the cabinet was dismissed on the
declaration of Martial Law by President Iskander Mirza.

He was arrested and convicted by a Military Tribunal in 1960 and

subsequently disqualified from holding public office. As a result of his legal
battles, he did not contest the 1970 general elections. Instead, he campaigned
on behalf of his younger brother, Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Bugti, a candidate of
the National Awami Party.

However, Bugti developed differences with the NAP leadership, especially

the new Balochistan Governor, Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo. He informed the
Federal Government and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Pakistan Peoples
Party) of the alleged London Plan, which resulted in the dismissal of the
provincial governor as well as the Chief Minister Sardar Ataullah Khan
Mengal and his cabinet on February 14, 1973.
The next day, the Federal Government appointed Bugti as the Governor of
Balochistan, and the Pakistan Army was deployed in the province as part of
a crackdown on the National Awami Party.

He resigned on January 1, 1974, after disagreeing with the manner in which

the Federal Government was carrying out policies in Balochistan. The army
had deployed 100,000 men in Baluchistan and with the help of the Iranian
airforce killed large numbers of Baluchis. Muhammad Raza Shah Pehlavi,
the King of Iran, sent F-14 fighter jets along with his pilots, to help Pakistani
army suppress the Baluchis. The Pakistani army killed more than 4000
Baluchis in these operations.

There was a lull in his activities when General Rahimuddin Khan was
appointed Governor of Balochistan in 1978. Bugti remained silent
throughout the course of Rahimuddin's rule, which was often characterized
by hostility towards the Baloch Sardars.

In 1988, he joined the Balochistan National Alliance and was elected Chief
Minister on February 4, 1989. His government frequently disagreed with the
Federal Government led by the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan
Peoples Party).

Bugti resigned on August 6, 1990, when the provincial assembly was

dissolved by Governor of Balochistan General Muhammad Musa Khan in
accordance with the instructions of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who was
exercising his authority by virtue of Article 58 (2 b) of the Constitution of
Pakistan.
The incoming caretaker, Chief Minister Mir Humayun Khan Marri, was his
son-in-law.For the 1990 General Elections, Bugti formed his own political
party, the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), being Balochistan's single largest
party and was elected to the provincial assembly.

In 1993, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan, representing

the JWP in parliament. Also, in 1993, Nawab Bugti announced his
candidacy to be President of Pakistan but later withdrew his candidacy and
announced his support of the eventual winner, Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan
Leghari. In 1997, Nawab Bugti was re-elected to the National Assembly of
Pakistan, representing the JWP.

On Saturday August 26, 2006, around 2230 hrs (PST), Bugti was killed in a
bombing operation that caused the cave roof to collapse on him. His location
was traced through the satellite phone he was using, and Pakistani secret
service agencies pin-pointed his location. (It is not clear if he was
pinpointed through a satellite phone)[5] The news of his death was broken to
the media by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, leader of Pakistan Peoples Party
Parliamentarians.

Pakistani President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has termed his death a victory
for Pakistanis and congratulated the secret service chief who carried out this
operation.

On August 24, 2006, under controversial circumstances, some Bugti

tribesmen announced an end to the Nawabi system and requested the
handing over of Nawab Bugti to authorities.[1] His property was seized, and
he was declared as a "proclaimed offender
 Present situation

Bugti's death was followed by rioting by hundreds of students from the state-
run Balochistan university.[6] As the news flashed across television screens in
Pakistan, the government deployed Rangers and paramilitary forces across
major cities to prevent a backlash and impose a curfew in the provincial
capital, Quetta.[6] Security arrangements for the Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf have been beefed up to the highest level, and his movement has
since been very restricted, fearing a retaliatory attack. Security arrangements
have been further enhanced in and around all airports of Pakistan. The media
both in Pakistan and outside have severely condemend the killing as the
"[m]ilitary’s second biggest blunder after Bhutto’s execution" and calling it a
"political nightmare".[7] Others have likened it to the East Bengal crisis of
1971 where military violence eventually led to the Bangladesh Liberation
War.[8]

On August 27, 2006, some private media broadcasted news that Bugti's
grandsons, Bramdakh and Mir Ali, are still alive, but no official
confirmation has been made

This is one of the few instances in Asia of a government killing a political

leader who had previously served in high official positions as a cabinet
minister, Senator, and Governor.

Talks with government

A significant meeting between the prime minister, finance minister,
information minister and President General Pervez Musharraf yielded little
by way of what exactly was discussed in the last year, except that the
government planned talks with some nationalist Baloch leaders.

The prime minister was to go to Sann to talk to Sindhi nationalist leader and
late GM Syed's son Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, but could not make it.
Secretary General of the National Security Council Tariq Aziz was
despatched to see Nawab Akbar Bugti. The government has hopes Jalal Shah
may be able to intercede and help defuse the looming confrontation between
the troops deployed in Balochistan in recent days ("protective deployment"
according to the ISPR chief, Major General Shaukat Sultan, "unannounced
army operation" according to the Baloch nationalists) and the nationalist
forces in the province. As to the Aziz-Bugti meeting, according to Akbar
Bugti, the on-going mega-projects in Balochistan were discussed, including
Gwadar. The 6-8 military cantonments the army wants to set up all over the
interior of the province did not come under discussion.

The government accuses the nationalist Sardars of being opposed to the

mega-projects in particular, and to development in the province in general,
for fear their traditional hold on their areas may be weakened by
modernisation. The fact, however, is that enlightened nationalists, including
the three main nationalist Sardars, Marri, Bugti and Mengal, oppose not

development, but deprivation of Baloch people's rights in the name of

development and modernisation.
Pakistan Government working to develop
Balochistan in a phased manner: Azeem
The Pakistan Government is working on a multi prong strategy for the
development of Balochistan through the elected representatives on fast track to
bring it at par with other provinces. This was stated by Senator Tariq Azeem
Khan, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting, here at a seminar on
"Why Balochistan Matters" arranged by the Foreign Policy Centre at the House of
Commons. The Minister said the strategy focussed on putting into place a
political process to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan, to
develop the province on fast track basis, address problems over-looked by the
previous governments and to protect the development projects and stop the
exploitation of people by few individuals.

Recommendations
The clash in Balochistan is between aggressive modernisation (backed by
military force) and the Baloch people's demands for their rights. Force has
not yielded good results in the past. It is unlikely to do so in future. The
government therefore would be better advised to seek a consensual mode of
implementation of the mega-projects the poor people of Balochistan
desperately need to overcome decades of neglect and deprivation of rights
by bringing the nationalists on board through a fair distribution of the
benefits of development and modernisation.
The writer is currently a freelance contributor who has held editorial
positions in various Pakistani newspapers

References
 http://www.balochvoice.com/
 http://www.balochwarna.org/
 http://www.balochpeople.com/
 http://www.radiobalochi.org/
 http://www.balochunity.org/
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5294522.stm

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5162662.stm

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5155364.stm

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5152212.stm

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4243129.stm