The south-western province of Balochistan remains one of Pakistan’s biggest security headaches after many decades of an armed rebellion seeking independence for the mineral-rich region. The latest in a series of bloodshed is a train hijack by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the strongest rebel group active in the region bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
On the afternoon of March 11, armed attackers blew up railway tracks to stop Jaffar Express, which was on a 30-hour journey from Quetta to Peshawar with over 400 passengers. It was Ramzan, and civilians and officials were heading home ahead of Eid. The train halted in a tunnel in a remote area, prompting an overnight gunfight with the forces amid fears of suicide bombers guarding the hostages.
The rebels sought the release of Baloch political prisoners and civilians allegedly kidnapped by the state forces, threatening to blow up the entire train if their demand was not fulfilled within 48 hours. The siege lasted not more than 30 hours, with Pakistani forces killing 33 rebels and rescuing the hostages. At least 21 passengers and four security personnel were also killed during the siege.
The hijacking marks a new episode in the Baloch movement, which has been raging since Pakistan gained independence and was carved out of a unified India. At the root of the rebellion is a betrayal by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, despite accepting the autonomy of one of the princely states that didn’t want to merge with them.
Why Baloch Want Freedom
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and the most sparsely populated province, had always harboured dreams of being independent.
The British used the region as a base to protect its colonial interests from expansionist forces like Russia. But facing a robust resistance, they adopted a non-interference policy in the nineteenth century, according to a research journal by the University of Balochistan.
But the scenario changed after Pakistan arm-twisted Baloch leaders to merge with them after India’s Partition. This didn’t go down well with the natives and triggered an even more aggressive campaign to realise their dream of an independent Balochistan.
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Baloch now allege exploitation of resources and marginalisation, which has fuelled ethnic discontent and severe anger against the Pakistan government.
Balochistan is mostly arid but is rich with minerals and resources. Reko Diq and Saindak, both in its Chaghi district, have major gold and copper deposits. The province also has iron ore, lead, zinc, and coal deposits. Baloch claim the government is exploiting these resources, which belong to the native population.
Several armed groups like the BLA and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) are at the forefront of this resistance.
The fallout has been targeted attacks on Pakistan’s security forces and establishments, and infrastructure, especially those funded by the Chinese, like CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor). China also manages Gwadar port, a deep-water port central to the CPEC.
The Baloch realise instability would cause panic among the Chinese and believe they would pressure Pakistan into accepting their demands. A lack of local inclusion and exploitation has added to their anger. The conflict has worsened over the past few years by human rights abuses. Baloch allege hundreds of forced disappearances of activists and civilians by state forces to suppress their movement.
Jinnah’s Betrayal
Balochistan was declared an independent state alongside India and Pakistan. The region comprises four former princely states – Kharan, Makaran, Las Bela, and Kalat. Ahead of Partition, the princely states were given three choices – accede to either India or Pakistan or stay independent. Khan Mir Ahmed Yar Khan – Khan of Kalat – chose the last option while the first three went with Pakistan.
According to historian Dushka H Sayyid, Kalat never held as much importance as Kashmir or Hyderabad since it was in the periphery of the Indian subcontinent, due to which it never featured in large in the contest between India and Pakistan for the accession of princely states at the time of the Partition.
Jinnah too accepted Kalat’s independence initially. The Khan trusted Jinnah – that he was a friend and would ensure Kalat’s independence.
Kalat declared independence on August 15, 1947, but the British feared it was too risky to allow Kalat to stay independent due to the threat from expansionist regimes. It pressed Pakistan to bring Kalat under its control and this is when Jinnah made a U-turn.
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In October 1947, Jinnah advised the Khan to expedite the merger with Pakistan, but he refused.
“Since then the Pakistani authorities not only started a campaign against the 9 Khan to compel him to join Pakistan, but also prepared to use coercive methods for a forced merger of the state,” writes Taj Mohammad Breseeg in his book ‘Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development up to 1980’.
On March 18, 1948, Jinnah announced the accession of Kharan, Makaran, Las Bela, which left Kalat landlocked and with less than half of its landmass. What worsened it for Kalat was a fake news that the Khan wanted to join the Indian dominion, leaving Pakistan furious. With no help from other international players, the Baloch leader was left with no choice but to accede to Pakistan.
Rebellion Over The Years
The second rebellion came in 1954 when Pakistan launched the One-Unit plan to reorganise its provinces. With the merger of Balochistan States Union with the provinces of West Pakistan in 1955, the feeling of neglect and deprivation grew deeper and became acute, according to Breseeg. In 1958, the Khan of Kalat Nawab Nauroz Khan declared independence, but he was tricked into surrendering in 1959.
In his book ‘Inside Baluchistan’, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Baluch quoted Khan as describing the military action: “I gave myself up to the army which paraded with me on the roads and streets of Kalat. I witnessed several of my men falling dead on the ground by the indiscriminate firing of the army…I shut my eyes in agony, and knew (that) nothing of what happened there till I found myself in the Lahore jail.”
In 1963, came the third rebellion with Sher Muhammad Bijrani Marri, also known as General Sherof, leading a group of nationalists backing their demand for the withdrawal of Pakistani troops, One Unit Plan cancellation, and the restoration of Balochistan as a unified province. It ended in 1969 when General Yahya Khan replaced Field Marshal Ayub Khan as the head of the government and signed a truce. A year later, One Unit Plan was scrapped in West Pakistan and Balochistan was made one of the provinces besides Punjab, Sindh, and Frontier.
The Bangladesh Impact
In the 1970s, the Baloch were emboldened by the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan and raised demands for greater autonomy. But Zulfikar Ali Bhutto refused, sparking massive protests and forcing the then prime minister to dismiss the Akbar Khan Bugti provincial government in Balochistan in 1973.
Pakistan launched a large-scale operation to suppress the protests, sparking an armed uprising that saw thousands of armed tribesmen fight against the Pakistani troops. This lasted four years until Bhutto was deposed by General Zia-ul-Haq. The Baloch were granted an amnesty and the Pakistani troops were pulled from Balochistan.
The fifth conflict began in the mid-2000s provoked by the rape of a woman doctor in a Baloch town allegedly by military personnel. The conflict has worsened in the past few years with deadly attacks on security personnel and infrastructure projects. But there has been no sign of a Pakistan government agreeing to the Baloch demands.
The struggle continues.