The Tale Of Woes of Balochs Remains Untold -Sajad Ali Most of us think the uprising in Balochistan which started after the brutal murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti in the Musharraf regime in an orchestrated operation by Pakistan Army is only a recent phenomenon, having no roots in history- of lies, betrayal, injustice, violence and victimization. How many of us know that Balochistan did not agree to accede to Pakistan and it was only under force of power that Balochs were made to surrender, while rebellion still simmered in their collective consciousness? How many of us know that it was given status of a province, as we know it today, only in 1970- after 23 long years of creation of the Pakistan? Here are a few bits from history. Speech of Ghos Bux Bizenjo, leader of Kalat national assembly, on December 14, 1947 merits special mention here, he said: “We have a distinct civilization… We are Muslims but it is not necessary that by virtue of being Muslims we should lose our freedom and merge with others. If the mere fact that we are Muslims requires us to join Pakistan, then Afghanistan and Iran should also amalgamate with Pakistan”. We are ready to have friendship with that country on the basis of sovereign equality but by no means [are we] ready to merge with Pakistan…” Balochistan consisted four princely states: Khaaran , Makran, Las Bela and Kalat. Though rest three put up some resistance from 1947 till 1955, when they were finally coaxed to join Pakistan through force and false promises of letting them enjoy the measure of autonomy they did under Britishers, Kalat stood like a wall in defiance to Pakistan. Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan, refused to join Pakistan. He maintained that Kalat had never been a part of British India, and had only signed a pact with Britishers to provide external security while enjoying internal autonomy, with its ruler being all powerful. Moreover, on the eve of departure, the Britishers allowed princely states to join whichever of the two newly independent states of India and Pakistan, they deemed fit, or remain independent if they wished so. The same offer was extended to all princely states in the subcontinent, only that whichever state chose to remain independent was invaded and hence annexed by the state close to it, in utter defiance of Partition Plan 1947- the states of Jhunagarh, Kashmir, Hyderabad and Balochistan offer an interesting insight into the case in point. Coming back to Kalat, the assertion of Khan of Kalat was accepted by Quaid-e-Azam himself, who requested him to join Pakistan only after giving credence to what Khan had claimed, though the state of Pakistan later reneged on its words. (Letter of the Quaid to Khan of Kalat is attached below, in which he requests him to accede to Pakistan). While, khan of Kalat was made to surrender, his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, launched a guerilla revolt against Pakistan Army from the mountains of Jhalawan district. When the movement started gaining traction in Baloch youth, who found in the persona of Khan a symbol of national resistance, Pakistan Army persuaded Khan to come down from mountains under the promise of giving safe passage and accepting his demands, all this was done by taking oath on Koran. Yet, when he came, Pakistani government went back on its promise and arrested Khan and put him into prison. This marked first in the long list of broken promises between Pakistan and Balochistan. While arrest of brave national freedom fighter and a common religious identity with Pakistan may have, for some time, diluted rebellious sentiments in Balochs, but the general hatred and feeling of being betrayed still simmered in Baloch mind. While Economic and social injustice meted out to the province over the years and use of violence by successive military regimes to curtail the struggle flamed the latent fire of rebellion; successful Bangali national struggle, on the other hand, imbued the Baloch with new-founded confidence in his strength to break free from the clutches of a state that he deemed tyrannous at best. Balochistan has, since, seen five major waves of insurgency from 1948-52, 1958-1960, 1962-1969, 1973-1979 and 2004-Present. Recent wave being biggest in terms of geographical spread, and longest in terms of length, while still refusing to subside, even after exercise of heavy-handed tactics by the military and dumping of bruised and battered bodies of recalcitrant Baloch souls here and there. Blaming RAW, CIA, MOSAD for igniting the struggle which is indigenous and national in character amounts to denying the injustice done to Balochs, all the while refusing to learn from the lessons that history has to offer. Even as the rest of Pakistan enjoyed the benefits of natural gas discovered in Sui, Balochistan, in 1952 till the depletion of reserves, Balochistan remained and still whopping 59% of it remains without gas facility, are the Balochs, then, not justified when they call for a halt to exploitation of their province, the way Bengalis did and for good reason? The liberation of Bengal from Pakistan and the subsequent development that Bangladesh has achieved in all imaginable sectors, surpassing its foster-mother, Pakistan, in all social development indicators attests to the fact that it was not due to the incompetence of Bengalis but because of an iniquitous state that it suffered under-development. The situation has come to a point - much to the chagrin of the erstwhile mother- that major industries, due to energy crisis and increasingly volatile business environment are moving to Bangladesh in search of better opportunities. Balochistan, I believe, may well be experiencing similar cycle of under-development, except that it has not been able to break free from it. The day now seems well nigh.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 14:12:16 +0000
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