A summary
The province of Balochistan, located in the south-west of the Islamic republic, has now only started to redeem their hope to stabilise the turmoil in the region. The terrain of the province and its strategic position is a point that culminates into further agitation in the area through continuous intrusions which have been both due to repression and external agitation.
Often, in our history textbooks, the distorted and misinterpreted context imparts a blurred perception of the region, impacting the associated history that is juxtaposed with the present condition. Balochistan’s history has several elements involved in its present dilemma and also elements that have been responsible for the historical setting of clashes and frustration in the region. Many efforts are being procured by the state to engage the province in projects such as the Gwadar port with Chinese assistance to normalise the situation.
The province of Balochistan is situated on the Eastern end of the Iranian plateau and divided in the southwestern area in Pakistan, Iran’s Sistan province and the Afghan region of Balochistan (including Nirmuz, Helmand and Kandahar). The Pakistani area is populated with Sunni majority along with the Iranian region also dominated by Sunni population, providing bases for external intervention.
Balochistan’s turbulent past is often characterised with having been attacked and subjugated by the Persian Empire and the Indian Empire, from West and East respectively. Its archaeological site of Mehrgarh shows it as the prehistoric inhabited area and also as the communication line established from the Indus Valley to the Persian Empire. The language of the region is Balochi-that doesn’t fall under the Eastern category of the Iranian languages like in the North-Pushto and also is not related to the Southwestern language in Iran-Persian but resembles the Northwestern Iranian language which is actually Kurdish. Presently, the province is dominated by Sunni Muslims, but the history associated with it saw Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism to be the main theological contexts due to the Iranian and Indian people inhabiting it. Due Alexander’s march back to Babylon-his idea of Indian conquest failed due to the regional and climatic conditions of the area-Balochistan acquired a very different sense of land then.
Balochistan in the 600’s during the rise of Islam was controlled by a Persian Empire (Sassanid)-the empire faced Arabs and soon Balochistan then known by its name Makran came under the control of Sindh dynasty and converted to Islam. In the 11th century, Seljuk Turks invaded Persia-formed the Seljuk Empire (formed by Turkish mercenaries and was one of the strongest in the Middle East). The region in the sixteenth century was divided into different areas of control-the Mughal Empire controlling it from Multan through a local state Kalat. Subsequently, Balochistan thus, was controlled by the Persian Empire, the Indian Empire and also by Nadir Shah under his brief rule. In 1839, British Empire attacked Kalat as part of their Afghanistan campaign and soon established a treaty to control the region. Persian Empire conquered back the Balochistan province-the present day Sistan are of Iran’s Balochistan and soon established the boundary between the present day Iranian Sistan and Pakistan’s Balochistan in 1871-872 with some changes referred to in 1895-1896.
Balochistan has repeatedly, been a region of arid mountainous location-not just in the matters of the terrain, but the political and local situation has been more or less likely, confronted with similar impacts. Its present situation is just as much distorted as it is in the history textbooks-incomplete. The social dilemma that it is confronted with is not just a matter of political will and concern, but the indexes required to improve the poverty ridden areas-though political factions have been a disturbing ailment for the state as the province has continuously been exploited both through governmental neglect and external elements.
According to the first Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) published by Pakistan on the 21st of June indicates the percentage of people living in poverty out of which, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan face 39 percent of it. Further dividing the index, almost two-third of the people, both FATA and Balochistan live in multidimensional poverty-73 percent in FATA and 71 percent in Balochistan.
Though the present government and armed forces have started to redeem the situation in the province-the political discord in Balochistan is just another form of economic disparity that continues to be the most dangerous threat engulfing the arid province. The armed forces have been working to establish security in the region as the primary option-China Pakistan Economic Corridor is presently another factor to promise Balochistan the much needed development-it’s for the government to see the socioeconomic constraints that are ultimately marked by political connotation.
