Pakistan's other problem: narratives, enduring injustice and ethnopolitical conflict in Balochistan

283 Pages·2016·2.11 MB·English

by  Rizwan Zeb

PAKISTAN’S OTHER PROBLEM: NARRATIVES,
ENDURING INJUSTICE AND
ETHNOPOLITICAL CONFLICT IN BALOCHISTAN

RIZWAN ZEB
20333901
B.A., Gordon College, University of the Punjab, 1998; M.Sc., (Defense &
Strategic Studies), Quaid-e-Azam University, 2002; D.ICS (Peace and Conflict
Research), Uppsala University, Sweden, 2002

This thesis is presented for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Western Australia
School of Social Sciences

Centre for Muslim States and Socieities (CMSS) and
Political Science and International Relations (PSIR)

2015
ABSTRACT

PAKISTAN’S OTHER PROBLEM:
NARRATIVES, ENDURING INJUSTICE AND ETHNOPOLITICAL
CONFLICT IN BALOCHISTAN
Rizwan Zeb

After an interval of more than two decades during which Baloch nationalist
leadership actively participated in the mainstream politics, contested elections and
was striving to achieve its objectives through parliamentary politics, insurgent
violence returned to Balochistan in 2002.
The emergence of conflict in Balochistan occurred when the local elite, who were
benefiting from the developments during the 1990s, argued that they felt left out
from what the Centre was planning. The construction of mega projects especially the
Gwadar port without consulting the Baloch political leadership, construction of
military cantonments, devolution of power plan and the victory of Mutahida Majlis-
e-Amal (MMA) (United Council for Action) in 2002 elections created a rift between
the Centre and the province. After Abkar Bugti’s death in 2006, the insurgent
violence intensified. The Baloch (periphery) claims to be fighting for its tribal honor
whereas Islamabad (center) claims to be fighting to ensure national security.
This thesis explores the causes of the resurgence of insurgent violence within an
historical context.
Drawing upon the literature on ethnopolitical conflicts, the thesis is based on
the premise that ethnopolitical conflicts occur due to the politicization of ethnicity. In
the process of politicization of ethnicity, the elite or leadership of that ethnicity and
ethnic group plays the most important role. Once ethnicity is politicized, again, it is
the ethnic elite / leadership which decides whether the politically active ethnicity will
turn violent or not. When it turns violent, government symbols and installations are
targeted, as are other ethnic groups. This is done for two reasons; one, to signal
resolve, second, to achieve a stronger bargaining position vis-a-vis the central
government. In the process of the politicization of ethnicity, the elite employ the tool
of narrative(s) based on the collective memory of an actual or perceived injustice to
the ethnic group. However, the presence of a memory of a past injustice could only
be used to politicize an ethnic group when an actual or perceived injustice is
happening to the ethnic group at the time.
Using this framework and employing the historical analysis method, this
thesis analyzes the relations between the center and province from 1947 to 2013. The
thesis argues that Baloch nationalists as well as the center use a standard narrative

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when dealing which each other. Although there are a number of internal divisions
and differences in the Baloch leadership, when it comes to its position towards the
Centre, it follows more or less the same narrative. According to the Baloch narrative,
Islamabad has never accepted and granted them the equal rights and uses
Balochistan’s natural resources without giving Balochistan, its due share. The
Centre’s narrative emphasis the tribal character of the Baloch society and that the
Baloch sardars especially the three sardars Mengal, Marri and Bugti are the biggest
problem in Balochistan’s integration with the federation.
The thesis makes three main points, first; both of these narratives are flawed and present a
precipitous picture of the problem, second; the Baloch leadership is divided along tribal lines
and lacks a unified voice, and third; the Baloch elite only uses the narrative of enduring
injustice as a source of politicization of Baloch ethnicity when an actual or perceived
injustice is taking place.

Keywords: Ethnopolitical conflict, Pakistan, Balochistan, Baloch, Centre-
province relations, narrative, ethnic elite, Centre-periphery relations, tribal
societies, tribalism, ethnic relations, national security, tribal honor

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Declaration Page

This thesis contains only sole-authored work, some of which has been published
and presented at conferences and /or prepared for publication under sole authorship.
The bibliographical details of the work and where it appears in the thesis are outlined
below.

Student
Signature:………………………………………………………………………………
……

Conference Papers

Does India have a Pakistan Policy?, Australian Political Science Association (APSA)
Conference 2013 Proceedings, held at Murdoch University, Perth on 30 September-2
October 2013

Pakistan’s Other Problem: Ethnopolitical conflict in Balochistan, at the Oceanic
conference on International Studies, University of Sydney, 2012

Ethnopolitical Conflict in Baluchistan and the peace interval (1979-2004), at
the 11th Annual East-West Center International Graduate Student Conference on the
Asia Pacific Region, held at the East-West Center, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa,
Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA, February 16-18, 2012.

Traditional Power Structures and Ethnopolitical Conflict in Baluchistan, at the
Australian Political Science Association (APSA) Conference 2011 held in Canberra
on 26–28 September 2011.

Research paper and article

Baluchistan: Pakistan’s Other Problem?, CACI Analyst, Central Asia Caucasus
Institute, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, USA, August 2011,
http://cacianalyst.org/?q=node/5607

Traditional Power Structures and Ethnopolitical Conflict in Baluchistan, Australian
Political Science Association (APSA) Conference 2011 Proceedings, held in
Canberra on 26–28 September 2011. [ISBN 978-0-646-56460-9]

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To Ammi and Abu
This is for you
And
To Bushra, Huzaifah and Maryam

ﺖﺳا ﺰﯿﮕﻧا ﻢﻏ و کﺎﺑ ﮯﺑ و زﻮﺳﺮﭘ ںازا ﻦﻣ ﮯﺋاﻮﻧ
ﺖﺳا ﺰﯿﺗ مد ﺢﺒﺻ دﺎﺑ و دﺎﺘﻓا ہﻠﻌﺷ رد ﻢﮐ ﺎﺷﺎﺧ ہﮐ

ﺖﺳا ﻮﺗ ہﻨﯿﮐ زا ﯽﺑاﺮﺧ ﮏﻠﻓ غﺮﭼ یا
ﺖﺳا ﻮﺗ ہﻨﯾﺮﯾد هﻮﯿﺷ یﺮﮐ داﺪﯿﺑ
ﺪﻨﺑ ﮏﺷﻮﺗ ہﻨﯿﺳ ﺮﮔا کﺎﺧ یا
ﺖﺳا ﻮﺗ ہﻨﯿﺳ رد ہﮐ ﯽﺘﻤﯿﻗ ﺮﮨﻮﮔ ﺲﺑ

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our
friends.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley

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Acknowledgements
T.S. Elliot once wrote what we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an
end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. Finishing a PhD is not
only an end but also a beginning. A beginning of endless possibilities. For me, during
the last five years, I felt like Prometheus, fighting the gods to snatch the proverbial
fire: PhD.
Writing a doctoral dissertation on ethnopolitical conflict in Balochistan, after
working on strategic stability issues between India and Pakistan with particular focus
on nuclear security, doctrines and Indo-Pak conventional imbalance and strategic
stability for almost a decade, was a decision which was made for me as a condition
of scholarship. This remarkable research journey turned out to be my Ray Buduick
story.
Although it is a given that no doctoral dissertation could be written without
the support of a number of helpful and generous people, in my case it was a fact. I
am fortunate enough to have found such people who helped, supported and guided
me through this journey. First and foremost, I am grateful to Dr. Michael Azeriadis.
He was always generous with his time and provided excellent feedback and guidance
on how to write, rewrite and/ or sharpen my argument. If I managed to finish the
thesis and if it is of any academic worth, it is mostly because of Michael. I would
always be indebted to him. Dr. Sato Juniper also deserves a big thanks. I am
indebted to her for her emotional and psychological support. She kept encouraging
me that I am close to the finishing line and I should not lose focus. Professor Van
Ikin guided me and supported me when I needed it the most. Professor Robyn
Owens, deputy vice chancellor (research), was generous with her time and provided
support and direction.
I also owe a huge debt and gratitude to Professor Emeritus Paul Wallace of
University of Missouri, and Professor of South Asian Studies at the Columbia
University Philip Oldenburg. They helped me from the early stages of the research
and provided helpful comments throughout the research. They were generous with
their time and read early drafts of the thesis and provided helpful comments and
suggestions how to improve it. The study benefitted immensely from their insightful

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comments. Arguably the most prominent and authoritative historian of Pakistan and
India especially the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Professor Ian Talbot
(University of Southampton) provided valuable comments and suggestions on how to
further improve the research. I was fortunate that Pakistan’s leading Political
scientist, Professor Hasan Askari Rizvi read the complete draft of the thesis and
provided a detailed feedback. I am grateful to all these dons of South Asian studies.
I am also grateful to Professor Samina Yasmeen for providing the office
space and hosting my son’s first and third birthday. This was kind and generous of
her. The staff at the Graduate Research School, International office and School of
Social Sciences deserve a special mention and thanks for their support, help,
guidance and advised whenever it was required. I would specially like to mention
Ms. Linley Hill and Mrs. Jo Francis. I could not have completed this research
without the continuous support especially of my endless requests for inter-library
loans, of the excellent staff at the Reid library especially the Get it service staff. My
sister-in-law Shehzadday Afzal was my unofficial research assistant throughout my
research. She located a number of articles, reports and books. She also ensured that I
received all the books I required.
I must also acknowledge the financial support provided by the University of
Western Australia for this study. I was recipient of the Scholarship for International
research Fees (SIRF), Tethyan Copper Scholarship, CMSS funding and the
Completion scholarship. UWA also provided me travel funding to present my
research at conferences.
During these five years, I was fortunate to always have on my side my mates:
Adriaan Wolvaardt and Will Lee. No words can express my gratitude to them. I am
confident this friendship is for life.
For her patience and unstinting support and for her love, I am grateful to
Bushra. Words would be completely inadequate to express my true feelings and
thanks, so I would not even attempt it. My son Zaif was seven months old when we
entered our room at the Trinity College. He is now six. My daughter Maryam is now
two years old. I have not been a very good father and husband since then as I always
have been busy working on my thesis. My post-PhD resolution is to change it. Last

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but not least I must remember my parents late Aziz Shaheen and late Muhammad
Bahir Ahmed. It was my mother who inculcated the love of books in me and my
father who throughout supported me. He wanted me to do my PhD as soon as
possible. It is my regret that he could not witness the fulfilment of perhaps his last
wish.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ii
Declaration iii
Dedication vi
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Ethnic conflict, ethnic elite and conflict- supportive
Narratives 13
Chapter Two: Baloch and Balochistan through History 33
Chapter Three: Balochistan during the British Rule in India 51
Chapter Four: Independence of Pakistan, Accession of Kalat
And Centre-Balochistan Relations (1947-69) 73
Chapter Five: Centre-Balochistan Relations (1969-1977) 103
Chapter Six: Balochistan and the Peace Interval (1977-1999) 135
Chapter Seven: The Return of Insurgency in Balochistan 163
Conclusion 200
Bibliography 209
Appendix

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