Will Balochistan win freedom? Part II
Pakistan is one of the worst sins of the white man in the
last century so they alone can undo the monster they created. Of course there
is no way Baloch can militarily confront the state backed by China’s military
might. My saying is David Can defeat Goliath, but David cannot defeat two
Goliaths. Baloch lack the resources, education, organization, and numbers.
At the same time India’s unprincipled stand on Balochistan
has been detrimental not only to her own national interests but also to Balochistan’s
social and political fabric.
In fact, according to the Daily Mail, Pakistan forced
annexation on March 27, 1948 coincided with an (All India Radio) AIR broadcast.
The radio reported a press conference by India’s foreign secretary VP Menon, a
key civil servant, saying the Khan “was pressing India to accept Kalat’s
accession”, but “India would have nothing to do with it”. According to
Pakistan's investigative The Friday Times, the issue was also raised in the Lok
Sabha by Balkrishna Sharma to which Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru responded
in detail that, "In view of the geographical position of Kalat state, the
question did not arise at all." The unprincipled stand of India continues
to this day, notwithstanding bombastic statements by national security chief
Ajit Doval and politician Dr Subramanian Swamy. For instance, a national
spokesperson for the ruling BJP who visited US immediately after Premier
Narendra Modi’s historic speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in
fall 2016 got cold feet after scheduling a meeting with this scribe who is
founder and president of a Balochistan related non-profit.
Here it is pertinent to point out, prior to 1947 Baloch
notables met in Garden East residence of this scribe’s grandfathers and
unanimously rejected the idea of merger with Pakistan. His uncle the late Abdul
Sattar Mustikhan became the ambassador of Kalat state to Pakistan and the Kalat
state flag flew over Mustikhan Lodge for eight and half months until its forced
merger with Pakistan. It is intriguing that the said uncle also under the Khan
of Kalat’s instructions helped Muslim
League[i]
leader Jinnah in 1947. Just like the Khan of Kalat was hoodwinked by Jinnah,
the uncle was outsmarted by Haroon brothers, Yusuf and Mahmoud, sons of Muslim
League politician Sir Abdullah Husain
Haroon. Haroon’s grandson and namesake was former Pakistan ambassador to the UN
Even after seven decades of different “packages” from
Pakistan’s rulers, There can be no meeting of minds or hearts between the
Baloch nationalists and Islamabad. The No.1 demand of the nationalists is
Balochistan should forever remain the “land of the Baloch,” – “istan” means
land of in the word Balochistan, while Baloch is the name of the nation-- that
is, a Baloch majority province. They demand that Baloch ports and natural
resources should remain in local hands, which is not acceptable to Islamabad as
Pakistan badly needs the land of the Baloch to settle the burgeoning population
of the Punjab and its resources and ports too to feed them.
Pakistan is one of the worst sins of the white man in the
last century so they alone can undo the monster they created. Of course there
is no way Baloch can militarily confront the state backed by China’s military
might. My saying is David Can defeat Goliath, but David cannot defeat two
Goliaths. Baloch lack the resources, education, organization, and numbers.
At the same time India’s unprincipled stand on Balochistan
has been detrimental not only to her own national interests but also to Balochistan’s
social and political fabric. In fact, according to the Daily Mail, Pakistan forced
annexation on March 27, 1948 coincided with an (All India Radio) AIR broadcast.
The radio reported a press conference by India’s foreign secretary VP Menon, a
key civil servant, saying the Khan “was pressing India to accept Kalat’s
accession”, but “India would have nothing to do with it”. According to
Pakistan's investigative The Friday Times, the issue was also raised in the Lok
Sabha by Balkrishna Sharma to which Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru responded
in detail that, "In view of the geographical position of Kalat state, the
question did not arise at all." The unprincipled stand of India continues
to this day, notwithstanding bombastic statements by national security chief
Ajit Doval and politician Dr Subramanian Swamy.
For instance, a national spokesperson for the ruling BJP
who visited US immediately after
Premier Narendra Modi’s historic speech from
the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in fall 2016 got cold feet after
scheduling a meeting with this scribe who is founder and president of a Balochistan
related non-profit. On the other hand India seems content with supporting
militancy in a secret manner with nearly 40 percent of the discretionary secret
funding for Baloch militants lining the pockets of the babus in Delhi. But
India cannot be faulted as Pakistan
military and especially the ISI are very dangerous, and nobody in more powerful
and richer nations of the West, including the US, wants to mess with them.
Here it is pertinent to point out, prior to 1947 Baloch
notables met in Garden East residence of this scribe’s grandfathers and
unanimously rejected the idea of merger with Pakistan. His uncle the late Abdul
Sattar Mustikhan became the ambassador of Kalat state to Pakistan and the Kalat
state flag flew over Mustikhan Lodge for eight and half months until its forced
merger with Pakistan. It is intriguing that the said uncle also under the Khan
of Kalat’s instructions helped Muslim
League[i] leader Jinnah in 1947. Just
like the Khan of Kalat was hoodwinked by Jinnah, the uncle was outsmarted by
Haroon brothers, Yusuf and Mahmoud, sons of Muslim League politician Sir Abdullah Husain Haroon. Haroon’s grandson and
namesake was former Pakistan ambassador to the UN
Even after seven decades of different “packages” from
Pakistan’s rulers, There can be no meeting of minds or hearts between the
Baloch nationalists and Islamabad. The No.1 demand of the nationalists is
Balochistan should forever remain the “land of the Baloch,” – “istan” means
land of in the word Balochistan, while Baloch is the name of the nation-- that
is, a Baloch majority province. They demand that Baloch ports and natural
resources should remain in local hands, which is not acceptable to Islamabad as
Pakistan badly needs the land of the Baloch to settle the burgeoning population
of the Punjab and its resources and ports too to feed them.
Pakistan also needs fossil fuels of Balochistan but the
Baloch are determined to resist the exploration for oil and gas. Curtailing the
role of the army and secret services in the country politics is a main demand
of Baloch nationalists. But unwillingness of Pakistan to accept these demands
is clear from the treatment the Deep State meted out to ousted premier Mian Nawaz
Sharif. The action against Sharif was simply a retribution of his daughter and
heir apparent Maryam Nawaz Sharif leaking
the brawl between ISI chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar and her uncle and chief
minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, to Cyril Almeida of Dawn newspaper. Though
the ISI chief took an early retirement after his name surfaced in a land scam,
he was never touched but elections in Pakistan may face army bullets this year
as there are clear indications the PML-N of Nawaz Sharif will win the war of
ballots. Mian Nawaz Sharif prides himself on being the lion of Punjab, but is
being treated like a wet kitten for resisting the Deep State. On the other
hand, Gen Pervez Musharraf, who the late academic Selig S. Harrison used to
call America’s favorite dictator, called former governor and chief minister
Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti a Baloch pygmy[ii] and also warned him that he
will be hit in a way he won’t even know how.
Over the years, the army generals did not concede any of
the Baloch demands but in fact tightened their iron grip even further,
Balochistan has been in turmoil. At the present time there is the issue of
enforced disappearances with fate of countless Baloch victims unknown, while Baloch
are demanding return of the victims of enforced disappearances. It seems that
most of the victims have been killed in custody and buried in mass graves.[iii]
That said six years ago when Dana Rohrabacher convened a
hearing at the US congress, showed how much of an insecure and paranoid the
state of Pakistan was. The Baloch person who spoke there was from Iranian
Balochistan lawyer M. Hossein Bor, with links to executed Jondullah leader Abdolmalek
Rigi, but Iran just ignored the hearing. However, Pakistan media was up in arms
blaming each and every US agency for the hearing.
Secession of Balochistan is not as difficult as people
think. Baloch need couple of hundred intelligent trainers in Afghanistan,
resolutions in the US Congress and in Lok Sabha in India and Pakistan will
unravel. Once freed Balochistan may look like a second Afghanistan. Seasoned
politician Sardar Ataullah Mengal however questions that even if Baloch achieved
statehood can they to run a country?
On the other hand, Pakistan feels it can confront US on
Balochistan. When Mushahid Husain was here 18 months ago I teased him to forget
Balochistan and that I was saying this as an American not as a Baloch and he
responded the “US is a power is on the decline” and “we will see.”
to be continued
[i]
KARACHI: Abdul Sattar Mustikhan passes away, Dawn February 23, 2005
[ii]
The Guardian US Edition, April 27, 2006
[iii]
“From where can we bring them?” said an army officer to ports and shipping
minister Hasil Bizenjo, implying victims of enforced disappearances have been
killed. Bizenjo’s private chat with this writer.
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