The next violent outbreak of Baloch sentiments came in 1958. This was
the direct result of the centralising policies pursued by the Pakistani
leaders. Fears of Bengali domination in the 1950s had propelled the
Punjabi leaders, who controlled the levers of power, to consolidate the
Western Wing of Pakistan into a unified province to counter Bengali
numerical strength. This One Unit plan was resisted by the Baloch, both
by Abdul Karim who had completed his prison term in 1955 and the Khan
who mobilised wide spread demonstrations through tribal chieftains.
Balochi nationalists within the Khanate took serious exception to the
One Unit scheme and in a meeting with Pakistani president Iskander Mirza
in October 1957 they urged Iskander Mirza to exempt Kalat from the One
Unit scheme, and to allot more government spending on developmental
activities in Kalat. But Ayub Khans ambitions changed the political
matrix in Pakistan and when some Baloch sardars started non-cooperating
with the Pakistani commissioner, under a flimsy pretext that the Khan
had raised a parallel army to attack Pakistani military, Ayub ordered
Pakistani army to march into Kalat on 6 October 1958, a day before he
imposed martial rule in Pakistan. The army arrested the Khan and his
followers and accused them of secretly negotiating with Afghanistan for a
full-scale Baloch rebellion.
The
arrest touched off a chain reaction of violence and counter-violence
with the government bombing villages suspected of harbouring guerrillas.
Pakistan military's campaigns in Danshera and Wad were resisted by the
Jhalawan Sardars loyal to the Khan. The octogenarian Chief of the Zehri
tribe in Jhalawan, Nauroz Khan put up a stiff resistance in the Mir Ghat
mountains, but the Pakistani military swore an oath by the Quran and
urged Nauroz to give up arms and prepare for negotiations.
Nauroz surrendered in anticipation of safe conduct and amnesty but the army put Nauroz and his sons behind the bars as soon as they laid down their arms. Naurozs sons were hanged soon afterwards, in Hyderabad and Sukur, in July 1960. A shocked and surprised Nauroz died soon afterwards in Kohlu prison in 1962. Ayubs message to the Balochis of Kalat who were the first to challenge the might of the Pakistani state, was clear. He reportedly threatened the total extinction of Balochis if they did not mend their ways.
The 1958 revolt was followed by the Pakistan Army setting up new garrisons at key points in the interior of Balochistan. This in turn provoked the Baloch to plan for more armed guerrilla movements capable of defending Balochi interests. The movement was led by Sher Mohammed Marri who was far-sighted enough to realise that the
disorganised
random struggle adopted so far would have to be transformed into a
classic guerrilla warfare. For this purpose, he set up a network of base
camps spread from the Mengal tribal areas of Jhalawan in the South to
the Marri and Bugti areas in the North. The Pararis, as the guerrillas
were called, ambushed convoys, bombed trains and so on. In retaliation,
the army staged savage reprisals. For example, the Army bulldozed 13,000
acres of almond tress owned by Sher Mohammed and his relatives in the
Marri area. The fighting continued sporadically until 1969 when the
Yahya Khan withdrew the One Unit plan and got the Baloch to agree to a
ceasefire. Despite the ceasefire, the Pararis assumed that the renewal
of the hostilities with Islamabad would be unavoidable sooner or later.
As such, the organisational infrastructure was kept intact and cadres
continued to be trained.
The
arrest touched off a chain reaction of violence and counter-violence
with the government bombing villages suspected of harbouring guerrillas.
Pakistan military's campaigns in Danshera and Wad were resisted by the
Jhalawan Sardars loyal to the Khan. The octogenarian Chief of the Zehri
tribe in Jhalawan, Nauroz Khan put up a stiff resistance in the Mir Ghat
mountains, but the Pakistani military swore an oath by the Quran and
urged Nauroz to give up arms and prepare for negotiations.
Nauroz surrendered in anticipation of safe conduct and amnesty but the army put Nauroz and his sons behind the bars as soon as they laid down their arms. Naurozs sons were hanged soon afterwards, in Hyderabad and Sukur, in July 1960. A shocked and surprised Nauroz died soon afterwards in Kohlu prison in 1962. Ayubs message to the Balochis of Kalat who were the first to challenge the might of the Pakistani state, was clear. He reportedly threatened the total extinction of Balochis if they did not mend their ways.
The 1958 revolt was followed by the Pakistan Army setting up new garrisons at key points in the interior of Balochistan. This in turn provoked the Baloch to plan for more armed guerrilla movements capable of defending Balochi interests. The movement was led by Sher Mohammed Marri who was far-sighted enough to realise that the
disorganised
random struggle adopted so far would have to be transformed into a
classic guerrilla warfare. For this purpose, he set up a network of base
camps spread from the Mengal tribal areas of Jhalawan in the South to
the Marri and Bugti areas in the North. The Pararis, as the guerrillas
were called, ambushed convoys, bombed trains and so on. In retaliation,
the army staged savage reprisals. For example, the Army bulldozed 13,000
acres of almond tress owned by Sher Mohammed and his relatives in the
Marri area. The fighting continued sporadically until 1969 when the
Yahya Khan withdrew the One Unit plan and got the Baloch to agree to a
ceasefire. Despite the ceasefire, the Pararis assumed that the renewal
of the hostilities with Islamabad would be unavoidable sooner or later.
As such, the organisational infrastructure was kept intact and cadres
continued to be trained.
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