|
The Baloch National
Question
Airavat Singh
“Mohammed
Ali Jinnah and his grand colleagues, in whose
hands the English have given the Government, wish
to enslave our dear homeland, every inch of which
was secured by our forefathers at the cost of
blood. We are not prepared to be unworthy sons of
our ancestors, we are resolved to fight for every
inch of our homeland to maintain its freedom”
Prince Abdul Karim Khan of Kalat
Tucked away in the southwestern corner of Pakistan, and
under the long shadow of the Pakistan Army, lies
the province of Balochistan. Just about 350,000
square kilometers of desert and barren mountains
are skirted by a long stretch of rocky coastline.
A few snow-fed streams rising in the far north
disappear quickly into this sun-baked land, and
scattered stretches of juniper forests are
enclosed in the higher vales. Over six million
inhabitants [Note
] are strewn across Balochistan’s vast
and diverse countryside. For centuries they have
lived under the tribal organization, ruled by
different Sardars, chief among them being the Khan
of Kalat [1]. This Khan headed a confederacy of
tribes from the seventeenth century onwards and
represented Balochistan in negotiations with Ahmad
Shah Abdali of Afghanistan, with the invading
British, and with the creators of Pakistan. Quetta,
which now serves as the capital of Balochistan,
was also part of the Khan’s territory [Geography
& Strategic Interests
].The betrayals and manipulations by the
Pakistanis in integrating Balochistan into the new
country have been the cause of numerous uprisings
led by the Baloch people ever since [2].
Ethnicity
and Language
The population of Balochistan is divided into three linguistic
groups: Baloch, Brahuvi, and Pashtun [Geography
& Strategic Interests
]. The Brahuvi language is said to be
similar to southern Indian language groups and is
claimed to be the remnant of the ancient
civilization that lay along the Indus and
Saraswati river systems. Racially
however the Brahuvi-speaking tribes have no
connection with South India. The Balochi language
is related to ancient Persian while the Baloch-speaking
tribes are regarded to be Turko-Iranian in
ethnicity. In search of better pastures they moved
into their present homes between the fourth and
sixteenth centuries [3]. Here they have
intermingled with the other groups and have lived
peacefully alongside them. From the hundreds of
tribes and sub-tribes, four large states emerged,
viz. Kalat, Makran, Lasbela, and Kharan [4].
The Pashtu-speakers are described as ethnically
Indo-Aryans and original inhabitants of the
Takht-i-Sulaiman range in Afghanistan. Over the
centuries they migrated north, east, and south and
created a bloc of land, which is referred to
fondly as Pashtunistan. Clear-cut
categories like Turko-Iranian, Indo-Aryan,
Dravidian, etc. are a legacy of the British
Raj. Propelled
by a search for their own origins, 18th and 19h
century Europeans developed a strong desire for
“racial profiling”, a trend continued by the
successor state of Pakistan. The latter have gone
on a tangent, attributing an Arab origin to the
Baloch and … hold your breath … a Jewish
origin to the Pashtun! The Pashtun are fondly
believed to be the 13th lost tribe of Israel,
which migrated eastwards from its original home.
Whether this claim will subdue the problematic
demand for a Pashtun homeland is another matter!
In fact whether it is Baloch or Pashtun ethno-nationalism,
the struggle for independence or autonomy on this
basis is ill advised. In the South Asian context
pure tribes or races are non-existent and an
illustration of this fact is found in Balochistan
itself. Consider the Raisani tribe of Bolan
district. Ethnically they are described as Pashtun
but they speak the Brahuvi language and consider
themselves to be of Brahuvi-Baloch stock [5]!
Similarly the Jamoot are a Jat tribe also found in
Sindh, but in the Nasirabad district of
Balochistan they speak both Sindhi and Balochi and
claim to be of Baloch stock [6]. The Kakars of
Jaffrabad district are a Pashtun tribe but they
speak the Sindhi language. Then there are
variations within languages. The Balochi spoken in
Gwadar is less Persianised than that spoken in
Panjgur or Kech. And there are large pockets of
Sindhi and Seraiki speaking groups in the
districts bordering Sindh and Punjab.
With the difficulties of drawing ethnic or linguistic
boundaries apparent, there is also the issue of
relations between these different groups. For
centuries different tribes have migrated and
settled down and mingled with the original
residents of a region. While the Pashtun and
Baloch press southwards, the Brahuvi and Jamoot
move north and west along the coast; from the
pressure of population growth or in search of
jobs, fresh pastures, etc… The one serious issue
in the last two decades has been the surge in the
Pashtun population as a result of the Afghan
conflict and by the policies [Domicile
Policy
] of various governments in Islamabad.
The late 17th Century saw interesting turns in
the history of South and West Asia. With the
Mughals engaged in a life or death struggle
against the Marathas and Rajputs, the power of
Hindustan was on the wane. While in the west the
relentless advance of Iran could not hide the
internal weaknesses of the Safavid dynasty. At
this crucial period the Baloch states were locked
into a confederacy by the Brahuvi-Baloch Khans of
Kalat. For the first time in their history the
inhabitants of Balochistan began to see themselves
as a nation that could negotiate on equal terms
with outside powers. Both the Durranis of Kabul
and the British accorded the Khans of Kalat a
respect usually reserved for equals and treated
the Baloch as an autonomous, if not independent,
nation [7].
 The Baloch thus have the unique distinction of
achieving political unity long before people
living in other parts of South Asia … a feat
made more remarkable by their lack of exposure, at
that time, to modern thinking and education. Under
British influence the Khans introduced limited
democracy and basic communication links but the
full force of modernization that changed the face
of South Asia did not reach Balochistan.
The British also marked out the physical borders of
Balochistan but betrayed the Khan of Kalat by
parceling out some Baloch land to other provinces
and even to other countries. Their last act of
betrayal was meted out to all the Princes and
Chiefs in South Asia when the latter were advised
to merge their states into either of the two new
dominions of India and Pakistan. Like some of the
other Chiefs, the Khan of Kalat too remained
deluded into believing that he could now declare
himself independent.
In 1947 the colonial era came to a formal end in South Asia
as a whole. For Balochistan and North West
Frontier Province (NWFP) however a far more severe
period of foreign domination was at hand. It would
seem inevitable when one considers the fact that
the creator of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, was
at that time also the legal advisor to the state
of Kalat! Jinnah and his Muslim League played a
game of incredible deceit and cunning. They
relished the thought of several autonomous states
making India an unviable country and hence
supported the rights of the rulers in declaring
independence. Yet when the Khan of Kalat dutifully
declared his own independence the Quaid-e-Azam
pressed him to merge his state with Pakistan in
the light of the threat from the rapidly expanding
Soviet Union. The Khan felt the pressure but
shifted the onus to his Parliament as representing
the Baloch people. The Parliament rejected the
idea and sent their decision to the Pakistan
foreign office. Subsequently Jinnah motored up to
the town of Sibi where he again pressed the Khan
to merge his state with Pakistan … this time in
the “cause of Islam and Pakistan” [8]. To
hasten the merger process, the Pakistanis divided
the old Baloch confederacy and forced the
individual states and tribes to join the new
country. To suppress the outrage among the Baloch,
the army in Quetta was used to initiate a police
action while members of the Kalat Parliament were
arrested or hounded into exile. Barely had the
disquiet at this usurpation died down when the
one-unit system was introduced into West Pakistan
and all the provinces were amalgamated into one.
The nominal existence of Pakistan’s princely
states came to an abrupt end while once again the
army moved in to arrest the Khan of Kalat, using
tanks and artillery to overawe the resistance from
the Baloch tribesmen [9].
The Struggle for
Identity
In 1970 Balochistan was finally given the status of a
province and the direct rule from the centre
outwardly came to an end. The newly-elected Baloch
nationalists intended to redeem the injustices
heaped on their people for the last quarter
century and change the foreign domination of their
province’s administration and economy [Geography
& Strategic Interests
]. Unfortunately this noble intention did
not fit in well with the new civilian rulers of
Pakistan. Having been an eyewitness to (and
participant in) the events leading to the creation
of Bangladesh, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regarded any
attempt at self-governance as the first sign of
separatism. Ironically it was the provincial
government that first provoked a local rebellion
by attempting to bring the tribal areas under
administrative control. Using this unrest as an
excuse Bhutto (the cries of Bengali dissidence
still ringing in his ears) dismissed the first
elected government of Balochistan and sent the
army in to crush the unrest. This rash decision
only helped the cause of Baloch nationalism.
Sinking their tribal feuds for once the
inhabitants of the province, rich or poor,
educated or backward, all joined hands to oppose
the invaders.
The civil war lasted five years and consumed thousands of
lives on both sides. The reasons for its ultimate
demise will be discussed later [Tactics
of the Pakistan Army]. In 1978 the new
military rulers of Pakistan could finally declare
that the Baloch insurgency had come to an end.
However their heavy deployment in the province did
not end since they were now involved in the
American war against the Soviet Union in
neighboring Afghanistan. The fallout from that
conflict forever changed the face of Balochistan
and brought in new challenges for Baloch society.
Society and Economy
The tribal system has existed in Balochistan for centuries.
Under the pressure of modernization, improved
communications, and education, the tribal bonds
should become loose and ultimately disappear.
However this has not happened and actually the
tribes have become stronger. To quote from Robert
Kaplan’s recent article
“The tribes are large social-welfare networks… the
government wants to destroy the tribal system but
there are no institutions to replace it…” [10]
The events of the last twenty years have ensured that this
statement will remain true for a long time to
come. It is important to discuss the following
regional factors and their interaction with tribal
politics.
1)
The drugs trade and the proliferation of
arms
The
creation and legitimization of a terror economy is
the dubious gift from the Pakistani state to the
tribesmen. Basic and advanced weaponry that was
liberally distributed for short-term objectives
has been reverse-engineered, and huge piles of
cheap but effective copies have been available for
some time. The private armies of the Sardars are
laced with such lethal firepower as to consider
themselves as practically independent entities,
free to make war on whomever and whenever they
like. The traditional cohesiveness of society has
hardened and the emergence of new ideas and
movements has been put on hold.
The
terror economy was financed by an unregulated
money market and by the scourge of the drugs
trade. The Baloch neither grow opium nor do they
refine it into heroin. They are present only at
the low-end transport portion of this business and
get a pittance from its enormous turnover.
Moreover the Baloch have had to pay the price in
their vulnerable youth becoming addicts
themselves, creating further social tension, and
facing a bleak future [11].
2)
Migrations
For
lack of employment opportunities in their own
province, the people of Balochistan migrate to the
big cities of Sindh and Punjab, and even overseas
to the Gulf and Africa, in search of livelihood.
It is estimated [12] that close to 40% of the
population of Balochistan permanently reside
outside its borders, and the majority of these are
men. Internal migration [13] is also substantial,
but in this case entire families shift with the
seasons or in search of water. While important for
the Baloch economy, these migrants are often used
as carriers for drugs and other smuggled items.
3)
Relations with Sindh
Balochistan’s
relations with its southern neighbor have been
generally friendly. Peoples from both sides settle
down and work in each other’s provinces, and
this process has been going on for centuries.
Prior to the British takeover Baloch tribes like
the Kalhoras and the Talpurs had established
states within Sindh, and yet this did not cause
animosity between the rulers and the ruled. The
Baloch embraced the local language and culture and
did not drain away the wealth of Sindh to their
original homes. Unfortunately later rulers did not
live up to these standards. Facing oppression from
these rulers, some people in Sindh, Balochistan
and NWFP have joined hands to form the Pakistan
Oppressed Nationalities Movement (PONM) aimed at
securing the rights of ethnic minorities and
justice for the provinces they inhabit. While
there are groupings that resort to bombings and
other violent methods, there seems to be an uneasy
peace prevailing in Balochistan for reasons
described below.
Balochistan at a Crossroad
In the post 9/11 world, a struggle for their rights will
pit the people of Balochistan against a
trigger-happy army on the hunt for
“terrorists”. The religious parties may term
such a struggle as anti-Islam and the Pashtuns may
be egged on to act against their provincial
brethren. The Americans would not want to upset
Musharraf’s apple cart and they would turn a
blind eye to his jackboots crushing the
insurgents. In fact certain American agencies and
individuals with decades-old links with the
Pakistan Army may even supply intelligence and
surveillance aid to their friends in such a
conflict. With Afghanistan also under the American
grip, only covert aid can be expected from that
government.
That leaves Iran and India. The former country may only
accept an autonomous province of Balochistan,
while the logic of terrain and low population on
the border confines them to providing covert aid.
An all-out Indo-Pak war can create the conditions
for an independent Balochistan but neither country
is prepared for such a conflict. The ten-month
mobilization by India kept the Pakistan Army
engaged for a while but this strategy cannot be
extended into years, for an insurgency will take
that long to bear fruit.
While an armed insurgency usually destroys the local
economy and leaves the population bruised and
battered for years, the people have little choice.
The proliferation of arms, assault rifles, RPGs,
and even artillery in the hands of the tribes
means that even a civil demonstration will
degenerate into shootouts and bombings. With an
opponent like the Pakistan Army, given its bloody
record in this province, as also in Bangladesh and
Gilgit, civil war will not be long in coming.
On the bright side Pakistan is now under the spotlight for
its role in international jihad. Activities in
Pakistani provinces can no longer be hidden away
in some academic journals, they will make the
headlines and tough questions will be asked if its
army acts with a heavy hand.
The
Pakistan Army
In the frontier regions of Balochistan and NWFP the British
Raj was merely a military occupation. There was
little development on the socio-economic front;
the infrastructure was built to sustain the
British Indian Army; and all the expenditure was
explained away as being in the larger interests of
the Empire. The Pakistan Army inherited and
faithfully continued these principles of a dead
empire. While the tribal populace had broadly
supported the demands of their Muslim brethren in
India, this support did not extend to the prospect
of being dumped into a unitary state with them.
The founders of Pakistan still hoped that such
support could be sustained in building a new
nation, with Islam breaking down the barriers of
ethnicity and language. On the other side
Afghanistan, happy to see the British leave, was
annoyed at the prospect of another state
continuing to cement the artificially drawn Durand
Line [14].
With the lack of civil administration and a viable
middle-class (which could support the
administration’s law and order efforts) the
Pakistani rulers had to rely on the Army to pacify
these regions, as in the time of the British. This
Army utilized extremism and the call to jihad, and
turned some of this tribal populace towards
Pakistan’s first war against India in J&K.
In later decades while Afghanistan attempted to help these
tribes with money and arms [15], the Pakistan Army
finally took over the state of Pakistan. With the
assured support of western powers, the Army rode
roughshod over the democratic rights of their
people, over their desire to end the suffocating
grasp of the traditional landed elite, and over
the aspirations of the different ethno-linguistic
groups for equal treatment. Their brazenly racist
attitude towards the Bengali majority led to the
birth of a new nation and created the first major
crisis of identity for Pakistan.
India, which had played a supportive and later
interventionist role in creating Bangladesh, was
keen to carry forward the process of Pakistan’s
break-up, and thus offered the Balochis some
assistance [16]. The unrest in Balochistan had
continued throughout the pre-71 period, and now
reached the stage of a civil war under the Baloch
People’s Liberation Front (BPLF) and the Baloch
Student Organization (BSO), with the Mengal and
Marri tribes providing the leadership [17].
1)
Tactics of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan
under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
unleashed hell on Balochistan. Entire tribes were
driven out of their homes, crops and orchards were
burnt, livestock was stolen, and examples were
made of the young leaders of the revolt. Having
played a central role in bringing the US and China
together against the Soviet Union, Pakistan could
count on western support to crush this revolt.
Help also came from Shah of Iran, a western proxy,
keen to prevent the outbreak affecting his Baloch
population. When these strong-arm methods failed
the Army changed track and enforced an economic
blockade of the disaffected tribes. While
financial support continued from Afghanistan, the
difficulties of the terrain made the job of
isolating the Baloch insurgents easier.
2)
Domicile Policy
Under
the domicile policy any outsider can live, and own
land, in Balochistan if that person is there for
reasons of work or marriage. This policy allowed
the establishment to settle large numbers of
outsiders, usually ex-servicemen, in sensitive
areas to keep the locals in check. A similar
policy is followed in other remote areas and
usually Punjabis with their large population gain
the maximum from this.
3)
Development Carrot
The
Army also began infrastructure projects like roads
and bridges to develop the economy of the region.
In the same breath they also promised to end the
inequities of the Sardari system, promising new
freedoms and opportunities to the Baloch youth.
However these moves were purely self-serving [18].
The building of roads opened up the hitherto
inaccessible remote areas and provided the Army
access to the militant strongholds. And the
hypocritical promise to end the domination of
Sardars was meant to deprive the movement of its
natural leaders and to create divisions among the
moderate and militant elements of that movement.
 On the diplomatic front also Pakistan and Iran together
convinced Afghanistan to end its overt support to
the Baloch [19], while India under the Janata
Party government also revised its position on the
matter and sought to better relations with its
neighbors [20]. The Pakistan Army on the other
hand began a dangerous new project to control its
Pashtun population and intervene in the affairs of
its northern neighbor.
The rise of a communist government in Afghanistan,
the training of Pashtun rebels by Pakistan, and
the resulting intervention by the Soviet Union are
topics outside the scope of this article. But the
tactics of the Pakistan Army now received support
from the West and the Arab world. The call to
jihad, recruitment of the young tribal through
madrassas, and the legitimization of the drugs and
arms trade, provided the firepower needed to take
on the Soviets [21].
While the Arab states and the US were egged on by the
Pakistani promise of Islamist insurgencies
spreading throughout the Soviet-controlled Central
Asia, the Pakistanis had ambitions of controlling
Afghanistan through the Pashtun populace. The
Pashtuns within Pakistan were filled with the
fervor of jihad, a strategy that also controlled
their nationalist feelings.
The Religious Parties
Tribal culture and Islam have co-existed and have become
intermingled over the centuries. The passion for
religion among the Baloch, the Pashtun, and others
is legendary. However the modern forms of Islam,
the Wahhabi and Deobandi ideologies, have largely
been imposed on the tribes. It is no surprise that
while support for the religious parties is highest
in Balochistan, FATA, and NWFP; their offices,
financial base, and seminaries are all located in
Punjab and large cities in other provinces [22].
Religious extremism has been a handy tool for the
Pakistan Army and its agencies to control the
tribal population and to utilize their energy in
obtaining strategic gains. This policy has not
been abandoned even in the post-September 11th
world.
1)
Musharraf at the Helm
After
the strategic debacle of Kargil, the military
finally overthrew the pretence of a domestic
civilian government. All this while the civilians
had been tolerated as long as they did not
question: the Army’s strategic objectives, the
defense budget, the Army’s commercial
enterprises, and the terror economy. Musharraf,
with his hardcore Deobandi background [23],
decided to formalize the role of the Army in the
Pakistan State. He took inspiration from the
Turkish and Chinese models and was supported in
his plans by his country’s elite and by some in
the west.
Musharraf’s
seven-point agenda [24] was dominated by a desire
to strengthen Pakistan’s economy and furiously
catch-up with India, of course without abandoning
the Army’s “strategic objectives”. The Army
was to be used as a cost-effective and
time-efficient developer of infrastructure,
especially in the remote areas. The Army would
also hunt down and bring to book those who had
looted the country’s wealth, the politicians,
the bureaucrats, and the businessmen. The
institutionalized corruption within the Army would
of course remain out of public scrutiny. These
plans of General Musharraf were changed forever by
9/11.
2)
The Pashtun Upsurge
After
September 11, 2001 with an American gun held to
his head, the General ended overt support to the
Taliban and acquiesced in the use of his country
by the American forces. Covert
support however continued and included: providing
sanctuary to the Taliban, reorganizing their
forces to conduct a guerrilla war against the new
Afghan government, and providing covering fire and
guidance to their cross-border activity.
However,
these tactics would not soothe the intense anger
among the tribesmen. Elections in those fiercely
anti-American times could only have had one
result, and it was a result to Musharraf’s
liking [25]. The victory of the religious parties
in Balochistan and NWFP meant that the General
could throw his hands up and refuse to take strong
action against the Taliban supporters or permit US
forces to chase them from across the border in hot
pursuit. There is evidence to indicate
Musharraf’s complicity [26] in the religious
parties’ election campaign and their shrill
sloganeering against the US and Pakistan
governments. Musharraf was not bothered by these
campaigns since he
was never going to face the electorate! The only
votes he needed were from the foreign masters and from his Corps
Commanders. The ascendancy of the MMA also acted
as a safety valve to defuse Pashtun anger. The
intense tribal feelings of brotherhood with the
Taliban, with Osama, with anyone who opposed the
Americans, were overcome by the far more shrill
and outrageous religious extremism.
 The strong showing of the MMA in Balochistan came as
a result of the Pashtun vote in key
constituencies. However to some extent, even the
Baloch share the Pashtun anger at perceived
American hypocrisy [27]. The twin tactics of using
the religious parties to control the tribesmen and
to warn off the Americans look set to continue,
while the Pakistan Army can freely carry out
operations against whosoever it chooses and simply
portray them as Taliban or Al-Qaeda.
A majestic plateau that separates the civilizations of
India and Iran, Balochistan has a geography which
is both a blessing and a curse. Vast stretches of
desert and mountain ranges that cut across the
province at every step have deterred outside
powers from occupying this land. The absence of
water and the arid climate have hindered the
movements of large armies but at the same time
have also prevented the growth and progress of the
population, which has remained in the tribal mode
for centuries.
The difficult terrain and scattered population allowed the
individual tribes to maintain their distinct
identity and fight off foreign invaders. This has
also been a major cause of the disunity and
infighting among the Baloch. In that age when
there were no roads or bridges; when travel and
trade between population centers took weeks, if
not months; security and safety were the
responsibility of large armies lodged in strong
forts. Such forts had to be built at a
strategically important place. In this border
between South and Central Asia, that place was
Kandahar.
 The vast army in this fort fought off foreign invaders,
provided protection to trade caravans, and
collected tribute from the tribes in the
neighborhood [28]. With no comparable stronghold
nearby, whoever held this fort dominated the
tribes, and controlled the routes between India
and Iran. The pressure of this army was felt
keenly by the mostly Pashtun tribes that lived in
the neighborhood of Kandahar but even the Baloch
had to deal with Iran and Afghanistan, who
successively held this fort from the 17th
Century onwards.
While losing the fort to the Durranis of Kabul, the rulers
of Iran who were consolidating their hold on the
islands of the Persian Gulf also kept a keen eye
on western Balochistan. However the states and
tribes in the Kalat confederacy were mostly left
alone by these outside powers. All this changed
when the Khan of Kalat was forced to lease Quetta
to the British. Keen to safeguard Sindh and
prevent the expansion of the Russian Empire, the
British needed a base close to the Afghan border
to maintain their influence on that country. Thus
the development of Quetta into a large military
cantonment, and the building of a road and rail
network from the plains, created a stronghold
rivaling Kandahar. The Pashtun tribes formerly
controlled from that Afghan fort now passed under
the British influence, a fact formalized in a
treaty with the ruler of Afghanistan. Thus
controlled from Quetta, they became part of
Balochistan and created the present ethnic mix of
that province [Ethnicity
and Language
].
All this was part of the “Great Game” between the
Russian and British Empires. Another part of this
contest was the British wooing of Persia to their
side, which resulted in the formal cession of some
Baloch territory to Iran. This territory, formerly
Western Balochistan, is now called
Seistan-Balochistan and has its administrative
capital in Zahedan [29]. The problems of these
tribes, particularly the alleged suppression of
their culture, are some cause of heartburn among
the Baloch across the border.
Infrastructure and
Natural Wealth
The British added a telegraph line, the first in India, to
their rapidly expanding communications
infrastructure in Balochistan [30]. The military
cantonments and the towns near them attracted
immigrants from the plains who set up small
trading enterprises. And while the increased
economic activity also drew in labor from the
neighboring provinces, Balochistan still remained
a Baloch-majority province.
The discovery of coal and copper deposits at last justified
the enormous expenses in cutting railway tunnels
and building bridges all the way up to Iran and
Afghanistan. Oil and gas deposits added to the
importance of Balochistan in British eyes and up
to the Second World War they were exploring the
viability of an independent Balochistan [31]. The
Soviet victory over Nazi Germany changed all that.
Now a strong western ally was needed to keep the
Godless communists away from the warm waters of
the Arabian Sea, and so the new state of Pakistan
was allowed to steamroll into Balochistan.
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The new rulers abruptly terminated the mining and gas
extraction contracts with western companies and
renegotiated them to their own advantage, leaving
only crumbs for the Baloch tribes. The tragic
suffocation of Baloch nationalism has been
discussed above [Colonization
] but even more tragic was the lack of
interest shown by the international community in
this important region. This changed with the
Afghan Jihad [
The Pakistan Army
]
and the creation of a moderate government in
Afghanistan post 9/11.
The Chinese and American interests in developing
infrastructure connecting Pakistan, Afghanistan
and Central Asia were active during the Taliban
era. They had no trouble interacting with those
extremists. And while terrorism struck and wars
were fought, business and strategic interests
remained alive and kicking. So while Chinese
state-run enterprises develop ports like Gwadar
and Ormara, American interests are at present
guided by defence needs. The Pakistani air bases
like Pasni and Dalbandin are still at their
command and it seems like the Americans will
remain there for some time to come.
The federal government in Pakistan seems to imagine that
the development of ports and highways will ignite
the economy of their country and soothe feelings
of alienation in Balochistan; however unless
Pakistan improves relations with Afghanistan and
Iran all this activity may turn out to be just a
lot of hot air. And unless the same government
cannot do justice to a section of its own people,
the safety of pipelines and highway traffic will
remain under a cloud. The dealings of foreign
powers with the federal government are naturally
looked upon with suspicion by the people in
Balochistan. At the very least they insist on
local employment in all projects by foreign
corporations, and guaranteed royalty payments to
the local government or even directly to the
tribes. While the Baloch cannot influence the
corporations through legitimate political methods,
in a region awash with arms and light artillery
this is the only way to do business unhindered.
Summary & Future Prospects
Balochistan can be described as a rich province inhabited
by a poor and illiterate population. Economic
opportunities are plentiful but largely untapped.
That of course cannot be said for the mineral
wealth of the province.
 
1)
Ownership of Assets
Balochistan
sits on a large pool of gas reserves and ores of
copper and iron. It produces more than half of
Pakistan’s coal and onyx. Unfortunately all this
wealth is classed under national resources
and is controlled by the Punjabi-dominated federal
government. Most of it is also consumed by
industries outside the province. The maps above
depict the gas network in Pakistan under the two
Sui Gas Companies, and it can be seen clearly that
Balochistan is poorly served by this network. The
argument put forth is that because of the
altitude, long distance, and scattered population,
it was not viable to build pipelines to service
the people of Balochistan. They instead are forced
to buy and transport the more expensive LPG
cylinders, which are a by-product at Sui [32]. The
high prices ensure that few Balochis can actually
afford this.
Now
if Sui gas had been owned and run by an
independent Balochistan, they would have first
built a pipeline to serve their people and would
have sold the more expensive LPG to the Punjabis.
The same parallel can be seen in other industries
and commercial areas; most jobs and contracts are
cornered by Punjabis while the Baloch have to be
content with menial work.
2)
Creating and Investing Capital
Another
problem plaguing the Baloch is the lack of a
robust financial infrastructure. They are unable
to mobilize the hard-earned savings of domestic
and overseas workers. Most of the banks in the
towns are based outside the province, while the
drugs trade has created a parallel and unregulated
method of moving capital [33]. If the provincial
government or any private group based in
Balochistan opened banks serving the province
exclusively, such vast amounts of capital could be
mobilized and used in an efficient manner. They
could set their own interest rates regime, issue
bonds, and raise cheap capital from overseas.
Agriculture
is a major employer of the people in Balochistan.
However most of the produce is traded and sold in
raw form. Agro-processing, especially of fruits,
would require such locally mobilized capital to be
set up. Education is another area to focus on.
While ensuring primary and women’s education is
a noble cause, given the social setup in the
province this seems to be an unachievable goal in
the near future. Hence to create a modern elite,
priority needs to be given to higher and technical
education.
Conclusion
What the people of Balochistan
need most is a social and economic resurgence so
that they can stand up and be counted among
Pakistan’s peoples. An increased participation
of such ethnic minorities in Pakistani policy
making will be beneficial to the region, and will
curb the reckless nature of the Punjabi elite.
More than an armed struggle [35], education and
economic strength will earn them the respect and
attention of the world powers.
Unfortunately unless Pakistan
realizes that it is in its own interest to treat
all provinces equally, the future looks bleak.
Since one province and ethnic group dominates all
others, Pakistan is unlike any other country and
it must operate on its own unique system.
Provinces must have a co-equal share in the
decision-making process of the federal government
and they must have an exclusive ownership of
assets to develop their respective regions. If
they choose to ignore such sane advice, the
Pakistani elite may face the prospect of another
civil war that could sow the seeds of Pakistan’s
destruction. If the voices of reason in
Balochistan are ignored for too long, the
well-armed Baloch may resort to force in claiming
their due. In making that choice the rulers of
Pakistan do not have the leisure of time.
The figures for population and
the ratios of ethnic balance used in this article
are based on official Pakistan government census
results. International agencies and local groups
have cast doubts on the accuracy of that census
and it is believed that most of the figures have
been manipulated to suit the government’s policy
towards the region.
References:
http://www.baloch2000.org/forum/interviews/mengal/interview.htm
[32]
[35]
http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR25301.shtml [21]
[24]
Robert
Kaplan: The Lawless Frontier [10]
http://www.balouch.com/forum
[11]
[34]
http://www.balochunity.org/index.php?facts [29]
[23]
http://www.balochvoice.com/Historical_Facts.html
[1]
[2] [3] [4] [8] [9]
http://www.bdd.sdnpk.org/
[5]
[6] [12] [13] [27] [33]
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jul/14guru.htm [16] [20]
History of Aurangzeb Vol I &
II, Sir Jadunath Sarkar. Detailed description and
history of Kandahar Fort. [28]
http://www.rcss.org/policy_studies/ps_6_4.html [19] [15] [17]
[18] [14]
FRONTLINE October
26 - November 08, 2002 [22]
[25] [26]
http://members.fortunecity.com/balochistan/baloch/id9.html
[7]
Maps & Figures
Map of Balochistan from http://www.bdd.sdnpk.org/
Photo of a Baloch Sardar and his
men from http://www.baloch2000.org/
Relief map from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/
B&W map from Robert
Kaplan: The Lawless Frontier
Leaders of the MMA photo from
FRONTLINE October
26 - November 08, 2002
The Bolan Pass photo from http://www.bdd.sdnpk.org/bolan.htm
The Sui Gas network from Sui
North and Sui
South
Acknowledgement:
The author wishes to acknowledge
the help and guidance of the Bharat Rakshak
Monitor editorial team, in researching and
collecting material for this article. The views
expressed in the article are the author’s own
and do not reflect the views of the BR
administrators or the BR Monitor editors. The
author bears responsibility for any factual errors
in the article.
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