Second Balochistan conflict

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Second Balochistan Conflict
Part of the Insurgency in Balochistan

Physical Map of Balochistan, Pakistan, where the fighting took place.
Date1958 – 1960
Location
Result

Pakistani victory

Belligerents
 Pakistan Kalat insurgents
Commanders and leaders
Iskander Mirza
Pakistan Ayub Khan
Pakistan Tikka Khan
Yar Khan  Surrendered
Nauroz Khan  Surrendered
Units involved
 Pakistan Army
 Pakistan Air Force
Kalat insurgents
Strength
Unknown 1000+ militants
Casualties and losses
Unknown 500+ captured
Unknown killed

The Second Balochistan Conflict refers to a rebellion by Nawab

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.[1][2][3][4]

Previous rebellion

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,

Iskander Mirza issued an order that took stripped powers away from Ahmed Yar Khan and all his distinctions, privileges and immunities.[4][2][3]

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 Sarwan, to turn in their arms at the respective local police stations[8][4][2][3]

One Unit scheme

The One Unit Scheme was the reorganisation of the provinces of Pakistan by the central

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.[9] 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.[10] The One Unit programme remained in effect until 1970.[11] 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

Dera Bugti and in the suburbs of Quetta[14].[8][19] A large number of Pakistani troops led by Lt. Col. Tikka Khan.[citation needed] and supported by Air force were sent to quell the rebellion.[8][19]

Negotiations and Surrender

In the early 1960s, Nawab Nauroz Khan and his men surrendered after peace talks between the tribals and Pakistani government,[4][2][3][14][20][12][13] 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.[4][2][3][8][19][14] He put a condition for surrendering. when Nauroz Khan refused to comply despite the concession offered by the government.[14] A jirga was sent to Nauroz Khan, along with a Holy Qur’an as an assurance that he would come down from the mountains on its sanctity[14][20][4][2][3][21].. 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.[8][19][12][13][4][2][3] The government delegation kept reassuring them through the Qur’an that the government was living up to its promise.[22][14] So they surrendered.,[21] however, around 160 insurgents, including Nauroz Khan and his son, were trialed in a military court in Machh district.[23] Nauroz Khan, his son, and five other family members were sentenced to death[18][14][12][13] on the charges of rebellion and killing of Pakistani troops; however, Nauroz Khan's sentence was later changed to life imprisonment.[8][14][19][24]Nauroz Khan spent his remaining life in Hyderabad prison.[14][12][13][4][2][3]

References