Why Balochistan remains a problem province for Pak

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• News Summary: Why Balochistan remains a problem province for Pak
• Balochistan
• Forced accession of Balochistan
• Why has this conflict persisted for such a long time?

Why in news?

• A suicide attack in Mastung district of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province killed at least 53 and injured over 70 others.
  • This is the deadliest terror attack in Pakistan since 2018, when a suicide bombing in the same district killed 149.
• No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, though the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) were quick to distance themselves from it.

News Summary: Why Balochistan remains a problem province for Pak

Balochistan

• About
  • Balochistan, the largest Pakistani province, is sparsely populated and impoverished when compared to the rest of the country.
  • At the same time, its location as well as abundance of natural resources, especially oil, make it strategically vital for Pakistan.
• Geographical location
  • 
  • It is located in the southwestern half of Pakistan, and is bordered by:
    • Iran to the west
    • Afghanistan and FATA to the north
    • Punjab and Sindh to the east
    • The Arabian Sea to the south
  • Balochistan is located at the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau.
  • It strategically bridges the Middle East and Southwest Asia to Central Asia and South Asia.
  • It is the closest oceanic frontage for the land-locked countries of Central Asia.

Forced accession of Balochistan

• Situation at the time of independence
  • The region comprised Makran, Las Bela, Kharan and Kalat, the tribal chiefs of which had sworn allegiance to the British.
  • The chief of Kalat was the most powerful chief, with the rest owing feudal allegiance to him.
• Demand for independent Baloch state
  • As British withdrawal from the subcontinent drew closer, Ahmed Yar Khan, the last chief of Kalat, began openly advocating for an independent Baloch state.
  • On August 11, 1947, his vision seemed to fructify when Pakistan signed a treaty of friendship with him — instead of forcing him to accede.
• British opposed an independent Baloch state
  • The British, wary of Russian expansionism in the region, were vehemently against this. They wanted Kalat’s accession to Pakistan.
  • The three feudatories of Kalat all wanted to accede to Pakistan. Thus, by October 1947, Pakistan changed its tune and began pushing for accession.
• Treaty of accession
  • On March 17, 1948, the Pakistan government decided to accept the accession of Kalat’s three feudatory states.
    • This left Kalat landlocked and with less than half its landmass.
  • Moreover, rumour broke that Khan actually wanted to accede to India.
  • This prompted the Pakistan Army to move into Balochistan on March 26, 1948.
  • The chief signed the treaty of accession a day later.
• A violent conflict
  • The ink on the accession treaty had not fully dried when protests broke out.
  • In July 1948, rebellion against the accession agreement took place, starting the first of five Baloch wars of independence.
    • Five Baloch wars of independence - fought in 1948, 1958–59, 1962–63 and 1973–1977, and currently ongoing since 2003.
  • These insurgencies have been brutally dealt with by Pakistani forces, who have been accused of committing numerous atrocities.

Why has this conflict persisted for such a long time?

• Ethnic difference
  • One fundamental reason is ethnic difference. People of Balochistan have a shared history, language and other cultural similarities very different from Punjabis or Sindhis.
  • Ethnic differences were the cause of East Pakistan breaking away in 1971 and are also the driving force behind Baloch nationalism.
• Skewed power relations among the different Muslim ethnicities
  • Punjabi landlords had an almost unchallenged hold over Pakistan’s bureaucracy.
• Deep economic and political grievances
  • Exacerbating ethnic differences are deep economic and political grievances held by the Baloch people.
  • Baloch nationalists argue that the Baloch people themselves do not enjoy the fruits of Balochistan’s abundant natural resources.
  • The construction of the China-backed Gwadar Port is in some ways symptomatic of the economic injustice faced by the Baloch population.
    • Punjabi and Sindhi engineers and technical specialists were hired en masse for the project, despite extremely high levels of unemployment among the educated Baloch population.
  • Pakistani govt blames foreign actors
    • The Pakistani government has itself blamed foreign actors, including India and Iran, as fomenting trouble in the region to destabilise the country.
    • In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggered an outcry in Pakistan when he mentioned Pakistan’s atrocities and repression of the Baloch people in his Independence Day speech.

Q1) What are Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)?

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan. It was governed by the Pakistani federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). It existed from 1947 until it was merged with the neighboring province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.

Q2) Where is Gwadar Port?

Gwadar Port is situated on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Gwadar, located in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.

Source: Pakistan bomb blast: Why Balochistan remains a problem province for Pak | Britannica | Pakistan Almanac