What is the story behind Balochistan?
Pakistan has four provinces namely: Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and, Punjab. The people in the Balochistan region which covers Afganistan, Pakistan, and Iran are demanding the formation of a separate country by the name Balochistan.
Balochistan has a rich source of natural gas, coal, and minerals. The resources extracted from here give a major pump to Pakistan’s economy. The people of Balochistan claim that despite contributing majorly to Pakistan’s economy till now there has not been any assistance provided by Pakistan’s side in the development of Balochistan. It is told that there is a lack of hospitals in the region and every year more than 700 babies die due to malnutrition lack of hospital facilities.
Education facilities are not up to mark and hence many people resolve to violence. This has lead to the formation of the Balochistan Liberation Army (B.L.A) based in Afghanistan which is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the U.K, and the U.S. based in Afghanistan.
Now the question arises, how did the situation of Balochistan deprecate to such an extent? Well,
It was during the time of 1947 when nations like Pakistan and India were close to attaining freedom from the clutches of Britishers. At that time Pakistan was made up of several princely states.
The present-day Balochistan area was formed by four princely states of Kharan, Kalat, Las Bela, and Makran.
The Pakistan Movement which started in the 1930s was a political movement that mainly aimed for the creation of a Muslim majority country Pakistan. The Khan of Kalat supported this movement but also desired a separate country.
In 1947, Pakistan and India gained freedom from the Britishers. Kalat was not a member of princely states and also the British did not have a paramount influence on Balochistan before independence hence on the instructions of Lord Mountbatten they were asked to join either India or Pakistan before independence.
But Mir Ahmad Khan who was the last Khan of Kalat decided to form a separate nation. Hence a day after Pakistan’s independence, Kalat declared its freedom and expressed to remain on friendly terms with Pakistan. Pakistan even recognized the freedom of the Nation of Kalat.
Meanwhile, the states of Las Bela, Makran and, Kharan had already accessioned into Pakistan under political influence.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah who is known as the Father of Pakistan was the leader of the All India Muslim League and the first governor-general of Pakistan post-independence. He was also known as Quaid-i-Azam which translates to ‘Great Leader’.
As days progressed Md. Ali Jinnah expressed the desire to merge Kalat into Pakistan. He wanted Mir Ahmad Khan to sign the form of accession which other states had signed while joining Pakistan. But Ahmad Khan refused to sign it. There were meetings held between both the countries only to end up with no truce.
On 1st April 1948, Pakistan’s army marched into Kalat and annexed Kalat into Pakistan.
From then on Balochistan has been showing resistance to Pakistan and thousands of Baloch have been killed over the years in their liberation struggle. Pakistan’s Independence Day is observed as ‘Black Day’ in Balochistan.
As of 2020, Balochistan and Pakistan have been involved in five conflicts right from the year of independence.
I would like to thank my readers for dropping here. I hope the time you spent reading my article has been fruitful.😊
