First ever Baluchistan Military Operation and seeds of Insurgency 1973

[Zechariah]

In 1973, following his visit to Iran, then-Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dismissed the elected provincial government of Balochistan. The pretext was that a cache of 350 Soviet submachine guns and 100,000 rounds of ammunition had supposedly been discovered in the Iraqi attaché's house, and were destined for Balochistan, according to Ray Fulcher in his Nov. 30, 2006 article, "Balochistan's History of Insurgency."

The ensuing protest against the dismissal of the duly elected government brought in another wave of the Pakistani Army—78,000 men, to be precise—supported by Iranian Cobra helicopters. The troops were resisted by some 50,000 Baloch. The conflict took the lives of 3,300 Pakistani troops, 5,300 Baloch, and thousands of civilians. That 1973 invasion created deep divisions between the Baloch people and Islamabad, and made the Baloch vulnerable to London's machinations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baloch_insurgency_and_Rahimuddin's_stabilization

 

[smoothcriminal]

Yes my friend. Balochistan is indeed one of the biggest dilemmas that Pakistan has faced as a nation ever since it was created.

There have been various wars fought between Pakistani forced and Baloch rebels. One was in 1948 and then in 1958 as well. Those wars have normally ended in the killing of the rebels along with the imprisonment of the Khan of Kalat( which I believe was in 1958). Between 1962 and 1968 also there were battles fought between Baloch tribals and Pakistan army.

Bhutto's action towards Balochistan came when NAP and JUI formed a coalition to protect Bhutto's course of reforms in Balochistan. Eventually, when Bhutto was overthrown, Zia formed an agreement with the tribes.

I was at a panel discussion in DC this summer, and Javed Jabbar( former minister) said that only 3 out of the 67 tribes in Balochistan currently support an insurgency against Pakistan's central government. I don't know if that is quite the case, but Balochi resentment towards Pakistan goes back to pre-partition. The Baloch tribes were not effected so much from the British colonization, yet they were forced( I believe) by GBR to become a part of Pakistan.

Aaj haalat daikho Balochistan ki and tell me how far we've come in the past 63 years in making Balochistan a part of our nation. It occupies 42% of our land mass, yet it is only home to 5 % of the population. There was a report done( I believe by Brookings) which said that 93% of the schools in Balochistan don't even have proper sanitation and shelter.

 

[Loralai]

Yes my friend. Balochistan is indeed one of the biggest dilemmas that Pakistan has faced as a nation ever since it was created.

There have been various wars fought between Pakistani forced and Baloch rebels. One was in 1948 and then in 1958 as well. Those wars have normally ended in the killing of the rebels along with the imprisonment of the Khan of Kalat( which I believe was in 1958). Between 1962 and 1968 also there were battles fought between Baloch tribals and Pakistan army.

Bhutto's action towards Balochistan came when NAP and JUI formed a coalition to protect Bhutto's course of reforms in Balochistan. Eventually, when Bhutto was overthrown, Zia formed an agreement with the tribes.

I was at a panel discussion in DC this summer, and Javed Jabbar( former minister) said that only 3 out of the 67 tribes in Balochistan currently support an insurgency against Pakistan's central government. I don't know if that is quite the case, but Balochi resentment towards Pakistan goes back to pre-partition. The Baloch tribes were not effected so much from the British colonization, yet they were forced( I believe) by GBR to become a part of Pakistan.

Aaj haalat daikho Balochistan ki and tell me how far we've come in the past 63 years in making Balochistan a part of our nation. It occupies 42% of our land mass, yet it is only home to 5 % of the population. There was a report done( I believe by Brookings) which said that 93% of the schools in Balochistan don't even have proper sanitation and shelter.

Thanks for this post. I found it informative. It would be interesting to know what other posters think of this period in Balochistan's history.

Out of interest, have you ever visited this part of Pakistan?

 

[Pakistanian]

Tbh They've been fighting since the middle ages.