Daily Times

The involvement of the foreign hand in destabilising Balochistan is no more a secret. India always gets engaged with the Baloch separatists and it is a matter of fact that many Baloch insurgents were involved in terror activities in Pakistan with Indian support. The strategic location of Balochistan makes it the favourite place for foreign players as it shares a border with Iran and Afghanistan while also having a deep seaport. So, the foreign hand remained involved in Balochistan for decades while supporting the separatists and insurgents.

Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, who claims to be the Khan of Kalat, recently wrote a letter to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in which he claimed that Pakistan annexed the State of Kalat after the partition of the sub-continent. It is contrary to the facts and a desperate attempt by the Baloch separatists only to remain relevant. They always try to create instability instead of working for the prosperity and development of Balochistan. There are efforts from the dissidents since day one to weaken this province as it will not go well for the federation of Pakistan. The fact is that the Khan of Kalat himself acceded to Pakistan when he was left with no other option.

Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, but the accession of Kalat did not take place till March 1948 and there is a complete story behind it. The three feudatories, including Lasbela and Kharan, played a key role and Khan of Kalat was forced to accede to Pakistan after their moves. Both Lasbela and Kharan were recognised as independent feudatories by the British at that time. Naturally, Balochistan, including the Kalat, was a part of Pakistan from day one. Qazi Isa was representing Balochistan when the Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940. He strongly supported the resolution that ultimately paved the way for the creation of Pakistan.

The strategic location of Balochistan makes it the favourite place for foreign players.

Historically speaking, Balochistan that Pakistan inherited consisted of three types of territory. Firstly, there was a long strip of territory that separated Balochistan from Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). These two areas were directly administered by the British and the purpose of this territory was to isolate the Baloch tribes from their neighbours. Secondly, there were some districts, which were leased by the Khan of Kalat. The Chief Commissioner of that time had control over these leased districts and directly administered strip. Thirdly, the rest of Balochistan was controlled by the Chiefs, who had a treaty relationship with the British. They were internally independent but their external relations were controlled by the Government of India.

The Khan of Kalat used to be considered as the most important of these chiefs, whose territories were divided amongst several feudatories with different levels of independence. Three of these feudatories including Makran, Lasbela and Kharan got emerged as separate political entities by 1947, and with Kalat, formed the Baluchistan States Union. Both Kharan and Lasbela acceded to Pakistan according to their desire and wish even without any decision of Kalat. Similarly, Makran also wished to do the same. There are lots of letters available in the history in which both Kharan and Lasbela made an appeal to Quaid-e-Azam to accept the accession of their states to Pakistan. The ruler of Kharan visited Karachi in October 1947 where he refused to accept the subordination of Kalat. The ruler of Kharan categorically said that he would live and die for Pakistan. Khan of Kalat refused to accept their separate status. Jam of Lasbela, Chief of Kharan and Nawab Bai Khan of Makran once again appealed to Quaid to accept their accession during their meeting with him in March 1948. They were of the view that they would be left with no other option except to take some steps of their own against the aggression of Khan of Kalat if Pakistan isn’t prepared to accept their offers of accession immediately. It was a serious blow to the Khan of Kalat as head of the Confederacy of the Baluchistan States Union.

The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan sent a telegram to London on March 17, 1948; stating that Pakistan has accepted the accession of Kharan, Lasbela and Makran as they had applied for it. The accession reduced the size of Kalat by more than one-half while cutting that State off completely from the coast. Kalat was rendered isolated resultantly. An announcement was made by the All India Radio on the night of March 27 that the Indian Union has rejected the request of Kalat State to accept its accession to India and the request was made some two months ago. The Khan of Kalat was left with no option and then he followed Kharan, Lasbela and Makran to accede to Pakistan. The Instrument of Accession was signed by the Khan of Kalat on March 27 and it was placed before Jinnah on March 31, 1948. No resistance could be seen during the accession till the middle of July 1948, when the brother of the Khan returned from Afghanistan. He fled to Afghanistan with a group of armed followers. The Pakistan Army engaged this group and the majority of his followers were arrested.

Mir Suleman Dawood, who proclaims to be the 35th Khan of Kalat, is in self-exile in London since 2006. Mir Suleman called a Grand Jirga after the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti in which more than 80 tribal heads from Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab participated. He told them that he will take the case of Kalat’s restoration as an independent entity to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The Balochistan government had tried to persuade him to return to Pakistan in 2015 when Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was the Chief Minister. It was a sincere effort of Pakistan to bring him back to his country but he didn’t respond it. It is no more a secret that Mir Suleman Dawood had sought “help” from Indian Prime Minister Modi in 2017. He termed Modi as a sincere friend and called Pakistan a cradle of terrorism while speaking at an event in London in 2017.

However, it is a good omen that his son Prince Muhammad Ahmadzai had parted ways from him and decided to return to Balochistan a few years ago. He also had applied for asylum in London but later withdrew his application informing the Home Office that he didn’t fear persecution in Pakistan. He hoisted the Pakistani flag at the Quaid-e-Azam’s Residency at Ziarat after arriving in Pakistan. Mir Suleman Dawood shouldn’t distort history only to get relevant in the picture. It will be good for him to return to Pakistan to serve his country positively.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.