Balochistan’s Unheard Voice: The Struggle Against Oppression
August 14th every year marks a day of celebration in Pakistan. But in Balochistan, this date carries a different meaning for many nationalists. Pakistan observes its Independence Day on August 14, but on the western edge of the country, a distinctly different message is spreading among the population.
Baloch nationalist groups have once again shifted the focus to their demand for separation from Pakistan. Their argument implies that the Baloch need a distinct political identity and the right to determine their own future. For the people, it's no longer about drawing another border.
Balochistan independence struggle call is rooted in years of conflict, enforced disappearances, persecution of activists, and debates surrounding their natural resources. What causes the Baloch to call for independence even after 70 years of Pakistan’s birth? To understand this, it is necessary to look at the present and return to the history of this region.
A Disputed Beginning: The History of this Dispute
The roots of the dispute are deep, taking us back to the final days of British rule in the subcontinent. According to Baloch nationalists, the Khanate of Kalat (a region that has since been incorporated into Pakistan) declared independence from Britain on August 11, 1947, on the eve of Pakistan’s independence.
For Baloch nationalists, this is evidence that Balochistan possessed a separate political status before its incorporation into Pakistan in 1948, which they consider illegitimate. The validity of this assumption, however, is disputed. The argument is based on the fact that the Khanate of Kalat was never a sovereign state, but rather a British dependency, and that the area that Pakistan annexed was not entirely the same as the Khanate.
Additionally, Balochistan consists of several autonomous regions, which adjoined Pakistan at the time of the partition. This dispute has implications for the entire conflict, since Pakistan views itself as a sovereign country, and any separatist tendencies threaten national security. On the other hand, Baloch nationalists claim that Pakistan’s annexation of Balochistan was illegitimate because it happened “against the will of the Baloch people.”
That disagreement over what happened in 1947-48 continues to shape how this conflict is understood today. Although several key events occurred in 1948, they do not entirely account for the long-standing political and military confrontation between Pakistan and Balochistan.
Balochistan Struggle for Independence: Decades of Resistance
Balochistan has been rife with rebellions and political unrest. Armed uprisings have occurred several times throughout the history of Pakistan, in 1948, in 1958-59, in the 1960s, 70s, and the twenty-first century.
There have been various triggers for these rebellions, but most of them boil down to a few issues: political autonomy, natural resources, military action on Baloch territory, and Pakistani authorities’ alleged abuse of power in the region.
The later movements of Baloch separatists turned to direct violent confrontations with Pakistani security forces, targeting both the military and civilians. The Pakistani government responded accordingly with military and security operations meant to eradicate the separatist movement. As a consequence, Balochistan has seen decades of armed conflict and violence in recent years.
But while separatist organizations fought the state and, at different times, engaged in negotiations with the federal government, ordinary Baloch civilians continued to live through the consequences of the conflict. This long history forms an important part of the wider Balochistan freedom struggle.
The Human Cost of Disappearances
Among the most serious allegations surrounding Balochistan is the widespread use of enforced disappearances. There have been numerous reports of people being forcibly taken away by the authorities or simply vanishing without a trace after engaging in any form of activism.
For the families of the disappeared, this is often an everlasting torment. They are unable to determine whether their loved ones are still alive or not, or if they are, where exactly the place of their detention is.
For a family, it means living in grief and uncertainty, with the mother worrying about her son, the wife about her husband, and children growing up without a father. This particular issue has become one of the most contentious ones of all because it appears that the wave of enforced disappearances has affected not only combatants but also civilians who expressed their political stance, including students, journalists, and activists.
If people are detained because of their political activities, they need to be given due process and a clear explanation of the charges against them. The grievance of enforced disappearances has become one of the most pressing for the Baloch as it severely affects not only their daily lives but also undermines the very rule of law in the region.
The Rise of Civilian Activism
The Balochistan freedom struggle is also changing. While international interest in Balochistan has long been dominated by insurgent groups and their violent tactics, civilians – and women in particular – are demanding that the human rights violations taking place in the region be recognized and addressed.
Among the most prominent Baloch activists is Mahrang Baloch, who draws lots of attention to the cases of kidnappings, murder, assaults on Baloch people, as well as systematic disappearances of Baloch citizens. Her activism, alongside that of many other campaigners, represents a significant change in the way the Baloch question is being addressed. Their activism has brought another dimension of the Balochistan conflict into public view: the Balochistan freedom struggle of civilians demanding accountability and political rights of the Balochistan conflict into public view: the Balochistan independence struggle of civilians demanding accountability and political rights for the Baloch people and their supporters.
Numerous human rights activists, mothers of the disappeared, students, and writers are now voicing their concerns and criticizing Pakistan’s government. They are also calling for an end to the bloodshed and stress the importance of democratic values. And unlike the pro-Baloch insurgents, they are not calling for independence or any other form of armed resistance – just recognition of human rights violations, peaceful protests, accountability, and justice for the disappeared and abused. Yet activists have themselves faced arrests and restrictions, raising further questions about the space available for peaceful political dissent.
Rich in Resources, Poor in Development
Also contributing to immense discontent is the vast wealth found in Balochistan. The region is rich in, among other minerals, deposits of natural gas, gold, copper and coal. At present, however, despite the presence of all of these resources, it stands as one of Pakistan's least developed territories.
This has resulted in the existence of a popular, yet fierce, grievance amongst the Baloch people. Why would a land be abundantly gifted with natural resources whilst its inhabitants endure the realities of poverty, poor infrastructure, inadequate facilities for education, and negligible public access to fundamental public services? The discourse of resource richness becomes even more debated with the installation of massive infrastructure projects; Gwadar, due to its strategically valuable port, has been assigned an important status within the context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Supporters see these projects as opportunities for national development and regional connectivity. Critics, however, argue that local communities have not received a fair share of the benefits. According to local concerns, local communities haven’t received a fair distribution of resources, raising anxieties regarding the ownership of resources, job opportunities, imposition of security restrictions, and distribution of economic benefits.
Hence, the question of resources becomes one which is inseparable from that of politics from the viewpoint of Baloch nationalists: that their people should have the right to self-determination and obtain a rightful share of wealth from these resources.
The Security Argument
Any honest discourse on Balochistan, however, must recognize that the province has been plagued by a severe militant insurgency. The insurgents have targeted security forces, both civilian and foreign, installations, and even civilians themselves, with attacks that have claimed many lives.
The Pakistani government argues that such violence poses a serious threat to its territorial integrity and national security, and that it must be confronted by military means. But the fact that militancy has taken root in Balochistan does not answer whether its suppression is a legitimate goal.
There is a difference between an armed insurgent and an unarmed civilian, between a terrorist attack and a protest. The presence of the former does not negate the rights of the latter. Terrorism may be a legitimate casus belli, but once combat operations have begun, their scope and methods must be carefully scrutinized, lest they become a means of suppressing dissent in their own right.
That is the difference between a region forever trapped in an endless cycle of insurgencies, crackdowns, and civilian casualties, and a region that can truly move on.
The Kashmir Comparison and the Question of Human Rights
There is another worrying asymmetry in this human-rights drama: international and media scrutiny of alleged human-rights violations in other parts of South Asia. Whenever particularly egregious human rights allegations erupt in Kashmir, Indian officials find themselves on the defensive, not only before foreign governments but also in the eyes of the domestic and international press.
The issue is highly politicized both at home and abroad, but Baloch activists note that charges of disappearances, killings, and repression in Balochistan seldom attract comparable international or media attention. For Baloch activists, this difference creates a perception of double standards in the way human-rights issues are discussed internationally.
If international law and universal values had truly been internalized, this imbalance should not exist. It should not be a matter of geopolitical convenience or calculation when alleged crimes against humanity occur. The wholesale suspension of human rights in Balochistan would be no less noteworthy or unacceptable than similar acts anywhere else in the world.
It should be just as important to us whether an activist is disappeared from Jammu and Kashmir or from Balochistan. It should be equally appalling when a civilian is shot down during an unauthorized protest in New Delhi as when the same happens in Quetta. It should be equally undesirable that a Pakistani journalist is under threat from her government, just as an Indian one might be. Human rights should be universally applicable values; they should not be subject to the whims of geopolitics.
Much of the coverage of the Balochistan independence struggle has been provided by local media and activists, rather than the mainstream Western press. The relative lack of coverage is felt as an additional suppression in the hearts of Baloch activists, who already feel that their sovereignty is being undermined. It is not only Pakistan's domestic policies that turn a blind eye to human rights; it is also the foreign policies of Pakistan's allies that do the same.
This brings us back to the same question: Can universal moral values really be universal if they are applied only when convenient?
Why the Baloch Voice Must Be Heard
The Balochistan struggle for independence and demand is a politicized issue, and one that Baloch people may not unanimously agree on, as there are also Baloch who support other political options. There are those Baloch who favor independence, those who want autonomy, and those who are focused on reform within Pakistan. These distinctions matter, but they do not erase the grievances that have sustained the conflict for decades. Supporters often describe this as the Balochistan struggle for independence.
The debate over Balochistan's sovereignty should not obscure the Baloch people's fundamental right to discuss and democratically decide their political future openly. If the independence supporters are wrong about Balochistan’s history, let historians and democratically elected representatives openly and objectively prove their claims.
If they are wrong about the Baloch disappearances and repression, let journalists investigate and report the truth. If they are not wrong, let the authorities stop criminalizing these very accusations and actually take measures to alleviate the Baloch suffering. No political conflict is ever settled by trying to make the suffering victims silent.
Thus, the Balochistan issue encompasses more than just the situation of a certain territory and its forthcoming status. It includes the issues of nationalism, natural resources, militarization, federalism, and even terrorism. It includes the long-standing and bitter debate over the Baloch identity and whether it has been suppressed.
Essentially, the Balochistan freedom struggle is also a fight for the right to debate and argue for one's political preference without others branding you as a traitor. The world may disagree about Balochistan's political future, but it should not disagree on the right of its people to peacefully express what they want for that future; it cannot and should not disagree on the opportunity of a free people to voice their opinion, no matter how horrific their circumstances may be. The Balochistan freedom struggle remains a subject of continuing political debate.
References
https://goachronicle.com/why-balochistan-should-be-independent-of-pakistan/
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/pakistan-s-war-on-balochistan-a-point-of-no-return
https://globalkashmir.net/opinion-dr-mahrang-baloch-and-modern-womens-activism-in-balochistan/
https://balochistanpulse.com/balochistan-and-kalat-separating-facts-from-the-occupation-narrative/
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