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Baluchistan' s History of Insurgency By Ray Fulcher
Green Left Weekly
New South Wales, Australia
December 10, 2006

Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan has been the site of
an intense struggle for self-determination against the federal
government. Despite the province being rich in natural resources,
the Baluch remain economically marginalized and receive little
benefit from development in Baluchistan. In its efforts to counter
the Baluch struggle, Pakistan's government has employed summary
executions, disappearances, torture and indiscriminate bombing and
artillery attack. [Continued from part I: "Baluchistan: Pakistan's
Internal War."]

The end result of the expropriation of Baluchistan' s natural
resources and the marginalization of Baluch from development
projects is the province's low standard of living. It is the poorest
province in Pakistan. According to the Social Policy and Development
Center in Karachi, Baluchistan has the highest levels of poverty in
Pakistan; nearly double that of the Punjab. Over half the population
subsists below the official poverty line, less than 50 percent have
clean drinking water, only 50 percent of children attend primary
school and only 33 percent of children up to two years old have any
form of immunization. Women's literacy is the lowest in Pakistan,
standing at just 7 percent. The federal government's 2003-04 Labor
Force Survey shows urban unemployment of 12.5 percent in Baluchistan
compared to 9.7 percent for Pakistan as a whole. Electricity is
supplied to barely 20 percent of the population.

The Musharraf regime has long blamed the nationalist leaders for
Baluchistan' s underdevelopment, arguing that they are "anti-
development. " However, research conducted by the Social Policy and
Development Center in 2001 shows those areas under control of
nationalist leaders, such as the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, Nawab Khair
Mari and Sardar Attaullah Mengal, were often better developed. A
number of indicators, such as road networks, primary school
enrollments, access to clean water and irrigation are often ranked
higher than areas aligned to the federal government.

Baluchistan' s History of Struggle The Baluch have a long history of
struggle against impositions by the Pakistani state. Their history,
however, predates the formation of Pakistan. The Baluch lay claim to
a history reaching back 2,000 years. In the 12th century, Mir Jalal
Khan united 44 Baluch tribes; in the 15th century the Confederation
of Rind Laskhari was established and the Khanate of Baluchistan in
the 17th.

During the British Raj, Britain annexed a strip of land adjoining
Afghanistan ("British Baluchistan" ) but beyond that did not
interfere in the affairs of Baluchistan so long as the Baluch
allowed the British Army access to Afghanistan. The Baluch
campaigned for independence during the final decades of the British
Raj but were compelled to join Pakistan in 1947.

The government in Islamabad sought to subsume Baluch identity into a
larger Pakistani identity. Part of its strategy was an attempt to
destroy the power of the tribal chiefs and concentrate all authority
in the central government. This strategy continues to this day. Even
the first two constitutions of Pakistan did not recognize the Baluch
as a distinct group.

Since independence, Islamabad has come into open conflict with the
Baluch on four occasions ï1962, 1958, 1948؟½ , and, most bloodily,
from 1973 to 1977, when a growing guerrilla movement led to an armed
insurrection that ravaged the province.

Within 24 hours of the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Khan of
Kalat (the largest "princely state" in Baluchistan) declared
independence. On April 1, 1948, the Pakistani army invaded and the
Khan capitulated. His brother, Karim, continued to resist with
around 700 guerrillas but was soon crushed.

Islamabad merged the four provinces of West Pakistan into "One Unit"
in 1954. This was a bid to counter the strength of East Pakistan
(which later became Bangladesh) and the possibility of the minority
provinces (Baluchistan, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh) uniting
with the east against the Punjab. A large anti-One Unit movement
emerged in Baluchistan.

To crush this movement the Pakistan army again invaded. The Khan of
Kalat was arrested and large-scale arrests were carried out. Nauroz
Khan led a resistance of 1,000 militia that fought the army in
pitched battles for over a year. In May 1959, Nauroz Khan was
arrested at a parley with the army and died in prison in 1964,
becoming a symbol of Baluch resistance. Five of his relatives,
including his son, were hanged.'

Following a 1973 visit of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Iran,
where the Shah warned him against allowing nationalist movements on
Iran's border, the elected government of Baluchistan was dismissed.
The provincial government, led by Sardar Ataulah Mengal, had been
seeking greater control in areas of development and
industrialization. The pretext used for dismissal was that a cache
of 350 Soviet submachine guns and 100,000 rounds of ammunition had
supposedly been discovered in the Iraqi attachï؟½'s house and were
destined for Baluchistan.

The Pakistani army invaded Baluchistan with 78,000 troops supported
by Iranian Cobra helicopters and was resisted by some 50,000
tribespeople. The conflict took the lives of 3,300 Pakistani troops,
5,300 tribespeople and thousands of civilians. In 1977, the military
staged a coup and overthrew Bhutto, declared "victory" in
Baluchistan and withdrew.

There are distinct similarities between the period immediately prior
to the 1973 insurrection and the current situation. After the 1962
conflict, Baluch nationalists began planning a movement capable of
defending their national interests.

Under the leadership of Sher Mohammed Marri, what would later become
the basic structure of the 1973 insurrection was created. In July
1963, 22 rebel camps were set up covering large areas of
Baluchistan, ranging from lands in the south belonging to the Mengal
tribes to those of the Marris in the north. This structure later
became the Baluch People's Liberation Front and initiated the 1973
insurrection.The Current Insurgency The groupings that underpin the current
Baluch national movement emerged gradually after the 1973-77
conflict.

The Baluchistan Liberation Army is a clandestine militant group that
was formed in the early 1980's. It is believed to be headed by Khair
Bux Marri of the Marri tribe. It has taken responsibility for most
of the attacks against the Pakistan military. The Baluchistan
Liberation Army calls for the creation of a Greater Baluchistan,
including the Baluch territories in Iran and Afghanistan.
The Baluch National Party is an amalgam of moderate forces that
concentrate on winning political support for nationalism among the
Baluch. It calls for extensive provincial autonomy, limiting the
central government to control of defense, foreign affairs, currency
and communications.

The Baluchistan Students Organization campaigns for a multinational
Pakistan and for the revival of Baluch nationalism. It generally
represents the aspirations of the educated but underemployed Baluch
middle class. It calls for the continuation of quotas and for the
recognition of the Baluch language as a medium of instruction in the
province.

The Bugti tribe, formerly led by Nawab Akbar Bugti, fields a force
of some 10,000 tribal fighters. The Dera Bugti district has been the
site of intense operations by the Pakistan military in 2005-06.
As well as the Bugti tribe, the Mengal (the second largest tribe in
Baluchistan) and the Marri are in open revolt against the
government. The conflict is not, however, limited to these tribal
areas but spread throughout the province. There is conflict between
the tribes but they are united against the Pakistani army.
Between December 2005, when the Pakistan military launched its most
recent assault on Baluchistan, and June 2006, more than 900 Baluch
have been killed, 140,000 displaced, 450 political activists (mainly
from the Baluch National Party) disappeared and 4,000 activists
arrested.

In late 2005 to early 2006, the Pakistan military laid siege to Dera
Bugti, attacking with artillery and air strikes. Many civilians were
killed and 85 percent of the 25,000-strong population fled. The town
of Kohlu also came under siege from Pakistan forces around the same
time, virtually imprisoning the 12,000 inhabitants for weeks.
As well as the military attacks, the Frontier Corps (F.C.) has been
responsible for indiscriminate rocket, artillery and helicopter
gunship attacks on civilian areas. There has been widespread
destruction of civilian infrastructure, including schools and
houses, particularly in Dera Bugti and Sui districts. Military
operations occur throughout the province.

The insurgents, however, strike back on a daily basis. Targeting
military and F.C. personnel, gas and oil pipelines, communications
infrastructure and police barracks, the insurgents launch rocket,
grenade and mortar attacks. Some areas are heavily mined by the
nationalist fighters.

On Pakistan Television on Jan. 10, 2005, President Pervez Musharraf
told the Baluch nationalists: "Don't push us ï؟½ it is not the
1970's, and this time you won't even know what has hit you."
Unfortunately for the president, it is beginning to look exactly
like 1973 as the insurgency gathers strength and ties down Pakistan
army divisions in guerrilla warfare.

From Green Left Weekly.

Is Justice Bhagwandas Latest Victim Of The Enforced Disappearances?

A constitutional petition has been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to ascertain the whereabouts of the
senior-most judge of the apex court, Justice Bhagwandas (next in seniority to the CJ). The petition has expressed
concern over a press report that said Justice Bhagwandas was not in India and the Pakistani High Commission
did not know about his visit or his whereabouts.

â€œThe nation is worried and wants to know about the whereabouts of Bhagwandas. Besides, it is the
responsibility of the government and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to give information on the whereabouts of the
justice and his health, safety and security,â€ said the petition. According to the report attached with the petition,
when Justice Bhagwandasâ€™ brother Sri Chand was contacted in Karachi, he could only confirm that Justice
Bhagwandas left Karachi for New Delhi, but said he knew nothing about his whereabouts. The report also quoted
some judges of the Indian Supreme Court as saying that Justice Bhagwandas did come to India, but had gone
back to Pakistan. (Daily Times Report).

Another report appearing in a section of the press said that Justice Bhagwandas had returned to Pakistan on 11th
March but has not been seen or heard since.

So where is the senior most SC judge? Has he become the latest victim of the enforced disappearances?

Chief Justice of Pakistan had taken up the cases of the people arrested by government agencies and kept
incommunicado in illegal confinements. Today he is under house arrest himself held mostly incommunicado.
What a justice to the Chief Justice!

The Pakistani Chief Dictator in a public meeting in Gujranwala today said that the government was not
responsible for the disappeared people, as most of them had gone underground themselves and joined jihadi
organizations. What about Justice Bhagwandas? Has he joined a jihadi outfit too or has he been put in a safe
house? Nothing could be farfetched in the Land of the Pure?