BALOCHISTAN UNFOLDED

It seems that in the confines of history, ever since the age of dawn, it has been human nature to be power hungry and do all you can to crush your enemies. Many examples have arisen throughout the years, and battles and constant struggles follow in the wake of such motives. One such case is of Pakistan and India. A fierce rivalry bringing with it a long history of killings, attacks and schemes. Although many incidents can be found in the recent years of the tension between the two countries, it has been going on since the time of partition. To properly understand the issue, a basic background should be in order. The reason why the British decided to separate the great subcontinent was to give the two major religions ‘Muslims and Hindus’, in its space a definite homeland. All the princely states were given freedom to choose with whom they should side. The concept of Pakistan and India had already arisen with many princely states having picked one side due to various reasons, be it the majority of the community living in the state or the religion that the ruler practiced. A propaganda has recently been unveiled by India that Balochistan which is the biggest province in Pakistan wished to stay independent and not be a part of Pakistan and was forced to accede through the barrel of the gun, and that the Pakistani Army surrounded the province and killed all who dared to wish for an independent state. There has been a widespread campaign on this with India chiming in the multiple reasons on how Pakistan is oppressing the rights of the Balochi’s living in the province. This has been backed up by a barrage of accounts claiming to be from Balochistan or its surrounding areas verifying the claims that the Indian government has made. The actions of Baramdagh Bugti didn’t make it any easier on the Pakistani government. Although evidence has been found against India for promoting him, but he still remains unchallenged. Since India are Hell bent to somehow get some sort of edge over its fierce neighbor, they have stopped at nothing to try and gain the sympathy of the world following the URI attack which they blamed on Pakistan without a second thought or any sort of evidence. Going back to the reason why India are so fixated about getting a free Balochistan. According to the information they are sharing, Balochistan acceded through force to Pakistan and thus should be considered independent as times have changed. And they are basing the current situation of some few personalities on the internet who claim to be oppressed by “being a part of Pakistan” (quoted). Although these personalities remain discreet and have no real influence on the matter, India has taken it upon itself to address the overall picture. In truth, the facts spewed by the Indian government and also the in question personalities need to get their facts straight.

First of all, it wasn’t even Balochistan that acceded as a whole state, it was Kalat. Kalat was a separate state which only came under a portion of Balochistan separate of Quetta or any other major city. Although the ruler of Kalat at the time known as the Khan of Kalat owned several areas around his territory, he did not own or control all of Balochistan. Secondly the theme that the ruler was forced to accede under the barrel of the gun couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Khan of Kalat held talks and dialogues with the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and agreed on mutual consent to be a part of Pakistan. This has been documented by the British and quoted by many Balochi leaders as to say it all happened with free will and no guns or threats were involved. Lastly, the Pakistani army did stand outside the border of Kalat but for a completely different reason. Sometime after the Khan had agreed to join his lands with Pakistan, his younger brother ‘Abdul Karim’ who was not in favor of joining Pakistan and dreamed of his own independent state rebelled against his older brother to forcefully take over the throne. To stop this mutiny, the Khan requested the Pakistani Army to intervene and they did. Abdul Karim with his small band of militants took up arms against the army but surrendered when they saw that they stood no chance. The Pakistani Army calmed the situation down without any major casualty and Abdul Karim was exiled to Afghanistan.

With the rebellion under control and the community along with the Khan considerably happy, Pakistan as a strong independent nation was strengthened with the inclusion of Kalat into its borders. Regarding these facts, India does not even have an argument over Balochistan and for those personalities that do not even hail from the province have no right to claim and spread lies that apparently have no connection with them. For the people or rather Indians that are still obsessed with breaking apart Pakistan, look at the history of your states. I hope reading about the accession of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Junagarh will calm you down. If that doesn’t help and you still think a case stands on Balochistan, look up what you did to Hyderabad and its people. Your very own Pundit Sunderlal’s report is there as proof.