Second Balochistan conflict

{{Short description|Conflict between Pakistani forces and Princes of Kalat}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Second Balochistan Conflict | partof = the Insurgency in Balochistan | image = Physical Map of Balochistan.jpg | caption = Physical Map of Balochistan, Pakistan, where the fighting took place. | date = 1958 – 1960 | place = Balochistan, Pakistan | result = Pakistani victory * Suppression of rebellion * Surrender of Nauroz Khan | combatant1 = {{flag|Pakistan}} | combatant2 = 22px|border Kalat insurgents | units1 = {{army|Pakistan}} {{air force|Pakistan}} | units2 = 22px|border Kalat insurgents | commander1 = {{flagicon|Pakistan}} Iskander Mirza {{flagicon|Pakistan}} Ayub Khan {{flagicon|Pakistan}} Tikka Khan | commander2 = {{flagicon image|QalatFlag.svg}} Yar Khan {{Surrendered}} {{flagicon image|QalatFlag.svg}} Nauroz Khan {{Surrendered}} | strength1 = Unknown | strength2 = 1,000+ militants | casualties1 = Unknown | casualties2 = 500+ captured Unknown killed }} '''The Second Balochistan Conflict''' refers to a rebellion by Nawab Nauroz Khan who took up arms in resistance to the One Unit policy, which decreased government representation for tribal leaders, from 1958 to 1959. He and his followers started a guerrilla war against Pakistan, and were arrested, charged with treason, and imprisoned in Hyderabad. Five of his family members, sons and nephews, were subsequently hanged on charges of treason and aiding in the murder of Pakistani troops. Nawab Nauroz Khan later died in captivity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harrison|first=Selig S.|title=In Afghanistan's shadow: Baluch nationalism and Soviet temptations|year=1981|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|isbn=978-0-87003-029-1|pages=27–28}}</ref><ref name=dimensions>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2-3QcOx2hogC&dq=First+Balochistan+conflict+-wikipedia&pg=PA170|title=The Redefined Dimensions of Baloch Nationalists|isbn=978-1-4568-9533-4 |last1=Akbar |first1=Malik Siraj |date=30 March 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation }}</ref><ref name=Insecurity>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZQ3kwEACAAJ|title=Conflict and Insecurity in Balochistan|date=2012 |publisher=Narratives Publication |isbn=978-969-9370-10-6 }}</ref><ref name=future>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSwauwAACAAJ|title= The Khanate of Kalat and the Genesis of Baluch Nationalism|isbn= 978-0-19-906592-9|last1= Axmann|first1= Martin|date= 2 August 2012|publisher= OUP Pakistan}}</ref>

== Background ==

=== Previous rebellion === {{Main|First Balochistan conflict}} In 1948, Prince Agha Abdul Karim and Prince Muhammad Rahim of Kalat launched a rebellion in response to 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.

=== Attack on Kalat Palace === In 1958, Ahmad Yar Khan tried to ambush the Deputy Commissioner. He invited him to his place and when he came the palace guards led by the Khan's son Prince Mohiuddin, attacked him.<ref name="dimensions" /><ref name="future" /><ref name="Siasat">{{cite web|url=https://www.siasat.pk/threads/balochistan-insurgency-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE-%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%DA%86%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%DA%A9%DB%92-%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B4.77910/|title=Baloch insurgency and its roots|date=29 August 2011 }}</ref> Three persons were wounded. In retaliation the following day, a tank of the Pakistan Army fired multiple rounds on the palace of Khan and the Khan was forced to surrender and was taken away to Lahore.<ref name="Siasat" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1w0d9w9.7|title=Pakistan's genocide in Bangladesh and limited war in Balochistan|jstor=10.7591/j.ctt1w0d9w9.7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/pakistanbalochistan-1947-present/|title=Balochistan, Pakistan (1947-present)}}</ref> While the Khan was being taken away, a crowd gathered outside the palace and upon a clash with the troops three were killed and at least two others were wounded.<ref name="Siasat" /> About 350 people were arrested in Kalat and neighbouring towns.<ref name="Siasat" /> It was alleged that the Khan had stored large quantity of weapons and food for a large private army to wage a rebellion against Pakistan.<ref name="Siasat" /><ref name="future" /> On October 6, 1958, Pakistani President Iskander Mirza issued an order that took stripped powers away from Ahmed Yar Khan and all his distinctions, privileges and immunities.<ref name="future" /><ref name="dimensions" /><ref name="Insecurity" />

=== Dismissal of the government === Iskander Mirza abolished the constitution, imposed martial law, dissolved the national and provincial assemblies, and dismissed the government. Pakistani government also stressed the Baloch tribesman, especially in Jhalawan and Sarawan, to turn in their arms at the respective local police stations<ref name=Bolan>{{cite web|url=https://bolanvoice.wordpress.com/2021/08/09/nouroz-khan-and-the-seven-baloch-rebels/|title=Nauroz Khan and the Baloch rebel|date=9 August 2021 }}</ref><ref name=future/><ref name=dimensions/><ref name=Insecurity/>

=== One Unit scheme === {{Main|One Unit Scheme}}

The One Unit Scheme was the reorganisation of the provinces of Pakistan by the central Pakistani government. It was led by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955. The government claimed that the programme would overcome the difficulty of administering the two unequal polities of West and East Pakistan separated from each other by more than a thousand miles. To diminish the differences between the two regions, the 'One Unit' programme merged the four provinces of West Pakistan (West Punjab, Sind, NWFP & Baluchistan) into a single province to parallel the province of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

The One Unit program was met with great resistance and grievances were raised by the four provinces since its establishment. As per scholar Julien Levesque, the One Unit project had mainly been pushed by the Punjabi elite of West Pakistan since 1953 with the aim of preventing politicians from East Pakistan from gaining power at the centre.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Schaflechner |editor1-first=Jürgen |editor2-last=Oesterheld |editor2-first=Christina |editor3-last=Asif |editor3-first=Ayesha |title=Pakistan: alternative imag(in)ings of the nation state |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Karachi |isbn=978-0190701314 |page=247 |edition=First |quote=The One Unit project had mainly been pushed by the Punjabi elite of West Pakistan since 1953 with the aim of preventing politicians from East Pakistan from gaining power at the centre.}}</ref> The National Awami Party successfully sponsored a bill in the National Assembly calling for its dissolution and providing for regional autonomy. This led to the military takeover of the national government.<ref>{{citation |last=Talbot |first=Ian |title=Pakistan: A Modern History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs0HdpKuaQC |year=1998 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-21606-1 |page=86}}</ref> The One Unit programme remained in effect until 1970.<ref name="Story of Pakistan">{{cite web|title=One Unit|date=June 2003 |url=http://storyofpakistan.com/west-pakistan-established-as-one-unit/|publisher=Story of Pakistan|access-date=16 May 2013|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Finally, President General Yahya Khan imposed Legal Framework Order No. 1970 to end the One Unit program and reinstate the provisional status of the Four Provinces as of August 1947.

==Rebellion by Nauroz Khan== An armed battle began under the command of Nawab Nauroz Khan Zarakzai Zehri.<ref name =legal/><ref name=drone/><ref name=ethnicity>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDb6i9x1FKgC&dq=Nawab+Nauroz+Khan&pg=PA63|title=The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan|isbn=978-0-415-68614-3 |last1=Siddiqi |first1=Farhan Hanif |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref name=native>{{cite book|url=https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Othe-Native-Population-And-Original-Form-Of-PKZY3CVKL847Q|title=Native Population And Original Form Of Government}}</ref><ref name=tribune>{{cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/188798/recalling-baloch-history|title=Recalling Baloch history}}</ref> Nawab Nauroz Khan gathered around one thousand armed Baloch tribals and demanded the immediate release of Ahmad Yar Khan of Kalat and the abolition of One Unit Scheme.<ref name=drone>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_YMKlVfFLkC&dq=nawab+Nauroz+Khan&pg=PA139|title=The Thistle and the Drone|isbn=978-0-8157-2379-0 |last1=Ahmed |first1=Akbar |date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref><ref name =legal>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iD0-AQAAIAAJ&q=nawab+Nauroz+Khan|title=The All Pakistan Legal Decisions|date=1972 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://thefridaytimes.com/05-Aug-2016/roots-of-resentment-ii|title=The roots of resentment}}</ref> As a result, a multiple battles erupted in the region,<ref name=ethnicity/><ref name=Khorasani>{{cite web|url=https://thekhorasandiary.com/en/2023/04/04/timeline-of-insurgency-in-balochistan |title= timeline of insurgency in Balochistan|date= 4 April 2023}}</ref> including near the Pakistan-Iran border,Jhalawan, Kohlu and Dera Bugti and in the suburbs of Quetta.<ref name=ethnicity/><ref name=Bolan/><ref name =Balochistan>{{cite web|url=http://thebalochistanpoint.com/origins-of-baloch-insurgency/|title=Origins of Baloch Insurgency|date=29 September 2014 }}</ref> A large number of Pakistani troops led by Lt. Col. Tikka Khan.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} and supported by Air force were sent to quell the rebellion.<ref name=Bolan/><ref name =Balochistan/>

==Negotiations and Surrender== In the early 1960s, Nawab Nauroz Khan and his men surrendered after peace talks between the tribal leaders and Pakistani government,<ref name=future/><ref name=dimensions/><ref name=Insecurity/><ref name=ethnicity/><ref name="Cohen, 2009">Cohen, 2009</ref><ref name =legal/><ref name=drone/> who pledged to abolish One Unit Scheme and grant amnesty to Nauroz Khan and his men. Nauroz Khan said that government must first withdraw its troops from Balochistan, release the Khan of Kalat immediately, restore the princely state of Kalat and release all the political prisoners in Balochistan.<ref name=future/><ref name=dimensions/><ref name=Insecurity/><ref name=Bolan/><ref name =Balochistan/><ref name=ethnicity/>

A jirga was sent to Nauroz Khan, along with a Quran as an assurance that he would come down from the mountains on its sanctity.<ref name=ethnicity/><ref name="Cohen, 2009"/><ref name=future/><ref name=dimensions/><ref name=Insecurity/><ref name="Axmann, 2008">Axmann, 2008</ref> When the militants came down from the mountains, they kissed the Qur’an and said that they respect the Quran but they won't surrender.<ref name=Bolan/><ref name =Balochistan/><ref name =legal/><ref name=drone/><ref name=future/><ref name=dimensions/><ref name=Insecurity/> The government delegation kept reassuring them through the Quran that the government was living up to its promise.<ref>Harison, 1981</ref><ref name=ethnicity/> So they surrendered.,<ref name="Axmann, 2008"/>

However, around 160 insurgents, including Nauroz Khan and his son, were trialed in a military court in Machh district.<ref>(Cohen, 2009)</ref> Nauroz Khan, his son, and five other family members were sentenced to death<ref name=Khorasani/><ref name=ethnicity/><ref name =legal/><ref name=drone/> on the charges of rebellion and killing of Pakistani troops.<ref name=Bolan/><ref name=ethnicity/><ref name =Balochistan/><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.pakistanreader.org/view_articles.php?url=Baloch%20nationalist%20opinion%20that%20the%20current%20initiative%20lacks%20seriousness&recordNo=214|title=Can Imran Khan succeed in his negotiations with Baloch rebels}}</ref>

On July 15, 1960 seven of the leaders were executed by hanging in Hyderabad Jail.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kundi |first=Mansoor Akbar |title=Balochistan: hope and despair |date=2002 |publisher=New Quetta Book Stall |location=Quetta |pages=59 |language=English |oclc=53138609}}</ref> Nowroz was spared execution on account of his age, but died in Kohlu Jail in 1964.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Akbar S |title=The thistle and the drone: how America's War on Terror became a global war on tribal Islam |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8157-2378-3 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=139, 140 |language=English |oclc=939687571}}</ref> The Khan of Kalat was subsequently forgiven and freed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://maloykrishnadhar.com/balochistan-cruces-of-history/ |title=Balochistan - Cruches Of History, by Maloy Krishna Dhar 25 April 2008 |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228232740/http://maloykrishnadhar.com/balochistan-cruces-of-history |archive-date=28 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Conflicts in 1958 Category:Balochistan Category:Wars involving Pakistan Category:Insurgency in Balochistan Category:History of Balochistan, Pakistan (1947–present)