First Balochistan conflict

First Balochistan conflict
Part of Insurgency in Balochistan

Map of the Baluchistan Agency
DateJuly 1948 – 1950
Location
Jhalawan, Balochistan
Result

Pakistani victory

Territorial
changes		 Pakistan recaptures Jhalawan
Belligerents
 Pakistan Kalat insurgents
Commanders and leaders

PakistanMuhammad Ali Jinnah (Until September 1948)
PakistanKhawaja Nazimuddin (From September 1948)

PakistanLiaquat Ali Khan
Prince Agha Abdul Karim  Surrendered
Prince Muhammad Rahim  Surrendered
Units involved
 Pakistan Army Dosht-e Jhalawan
Strength
Unknown ~1,000 militants
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The First Balochistan Conflict was a rebellion instigated by Prince Agha Abdul Karim and Prince Muhammad Rahim of Kalat in response to the accession of Kalat and with the aim of establishing Kalat as an independent state from Pakistan. With the arrest of the princes and loss of a lot of manpower, the rebellion ultimately came to an end in 1950 with Pakistan recapturing all territories.

Background

Balochistan contained a Chief Commissioner's province and four princely states under the British Raj. The province's Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality opted for Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947.[1] Three of the princely states, Makran, Las Bela and Kharan, acceded to Pakistan in 1947 after independence.[2] The ruler of the fourth princely state, the Khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan, who used to call Jinnah his 'father',[3] declared Kalat's independence as this was one of the options given to all of the 535 princely states by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.[4]

Conflict

Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after the 'strange help' of All India Radio and a period of negotiations and bureaucratic tactics used by Pakistan.[3] The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan, led his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, to revolt against his brother's decision[5] in July 1948.[6] Princes Karim Khan and Muhammad Rahim refused to lay down arms and lead the Dosht-e Jhalawan (numbering around 1000 militants)[7] in unconventional attacks on the army.[5][8][9][10][11][12]

Battle of Jhalawan

The Baloch militants captured the area of Jhalawan and used it as a base to stage further operations against Pakistani armed forces; after an offensive Pakistani forces were able to recapture this area. The militants suffered heavy casualties and were demoralised which ultimately contributed to their surrender.[13][8][12][11]

Foreign involvement

Prince Karim Khan and some other Baloch separatist leaders such as Qadir Bakhsh Nizamani, Muhammad Hussain Anqa, Malik Saeed Dehwar, and Moulvi Muhammad Afzal, went to Afghanistan in May 1948, to obtain material and financial support from the Afghan government and the Soviet Union,[13][7] but they failed to obtain any financial or military assistance although Prince Abdul Karim was granted refuge in Afghanistan[13][14] Afghan government wanted to rather annex Balochistan as it was in desperately in need of a sea port. Prince Karim failed to get any support from the Afghan government and the local Balochs, who were not interested in rebelling against the government of Pakistan.

Aftermath and Surrender

In 1950, they returned to Pakistan upon being granted amnesty by some Baloch statesmen and Pakistani government however on their return, they were arrested against the truce and sentenced to ten years in Haripur jail.[15] Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until the province's dissolution in 1955.

See also

References

  1. ^ Pervaiz I Cheema; Manuel Riemer (22 August 1990). Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-1-349-20942-2.
  2. ^ Syed Farooq Hasnat (2011). Global Security Watch—Pakistan. ABC-CLIO. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-313-34698-9.
  3. ^ a b Yaqoob Khan Bangash (10 May 2015). "The princely India". The News on Sunday. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  4. ^ Bennett Jones, Owen (2003). Pakistan: Eye of the storm (2nd Revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-300-10147-8.
  5. ^ a b Qaiser Butt (22 April 2013). "Princely Liaisons: The Khan family controls politics in Kalat". The Express Tribune.
  6. ^ Long, Roger D.; Singh, Gurharpal; Samad, Yunas; Talbot, Ian (2015). State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-317-44820-4.
  7. ^ a b "Kalati and Insurgency in Balochistan".
  8. ^ a b Akbar, Malik Siraj (30 March 2011). The Redefined Dimensions of Baloch Nationalists. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4568-9533-4.
  9. ^ Fields of Fire. Lulu.com. 2009. ISBN 978-0-9554657-7-2.
  10. ^ "conflicts in western Asia".
  11. ^ a b Conflict and Insecurity in Balochistan. Narratives Publication. 2012. ISBN 978-969-9370-10-6.
  12. ^ a b Axmann, Martin (2 August 2012). The Khanate of Kalat and the Genesis of Baluch Nationalism. OUP Pakistan. ISBN 978-0-19-906592-9.
  13. ^ a b c "timeline of insurgency in Balochistan".
  14. ^ Akbar, Malik Siraj (2011). Redefined dimensions of Baloch: nationalist movement. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-4568-9532-7. OCLC 1135418453.
  15. ^ "Return of Kalati khans is a distant possibility".