KARACHI, May 19: With increasing reports of people going missing, bodies being discovered and relatives of missing persons camping outside press clubs in major cities across Pakistan in an effort to get the media to highlight their plight is a testament to the fact that things are going from bad to worse in Balochistan.

In an effort to create awareness and understanding of the current situation in that province, The Second Floor (T2F) held a talk on the first of its four part series on Balochistan titled A brief history of Baloch nationalism (1920s to 2004).

The featured guests of the evening were journalist Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, who has spent much of his life reporting on Balochistan and Afghanistan, and a former political adviser to the Balochistan governor, Biyyathil Mohyuddin Kutty.

Instead of getting an overview of the history of the insurgent movements in Balochistan, the guests spoke in minute detail of certain events that had taken place at various points in the history of Balochistan.

Some of the issues that were discussed included the declaration of Kalat as an independent state on August 11, 1947 and its subsequent succession to Pakistan — which was according to the speakers done under pressure.

They spoke of the situation of Balochistan after the One Unit scheme was suspended. There was a special focus on the military operation that took place in Balochistan after the abrupt dismissal of Sardar Attaullah Mengal’s government in February 1973.

Mr Talpur is of the opinion that the insurgent movement that took place around that time was a reaction to the military operation.

“Every effort has been made to destabilize Balochistan and that includes efforts by the Shah of Iran. Balochistan has never been treated equally,” said B.M. Kutty.

Mr Talpur stressed that in order to understand any event one must suspend biases and frame of reference.

He said the Baloch had been struggling for self-determination since the 1920s. “The movement slackened several times, but it never halted.

It has gained momentum recently because of the treatment of the federal government.”

The difference, in his opinion, of the previous Baloch insurgencies compared to the current one was the demand for a separate state.

Mr Talpur also read out a brief section from the speech made by former Balochistan Governor Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo on Dec 12, 1947 when the state of Kalat in Balochistan had announced its independence.

The section of the speech which he read stated: “We have a distinct civilisation, we have a distinct culture like that of Afghanistan and Iran, we are Muslims but it is not necessary that by virtue of being Muslims we should lose our freedom and merge with others if that mere fact Muslims requires us to join Pakistan then Afghanistan and Iran both Muslim countries should also amalgamate with Pakistan, this merger is subjugation of Baloch homeland.”

The moderator, Nazish Brohi, said the nationalist movement in Balochistan took birth in various student organisations and that political debate was still very strong in Balochistan.

In response to the moderator’s question about a strong reaction by the federal government to the movements in Balochistan, one speaker said: “There is too much at stake in Balochistan. There are huge mineral reserves and Balochistan has a huge coastline. When there is too much at stake and you feel there exists even a small threat, you react strongly to it.”

Mr Talpur also mentioned that non-Baloch settlers in Balochistan in the previous Baloch insurgencies had never been attacked, as is the case in the current insurgent movement. “That is a new extreme. We need to understand why,” he said.

Adding a disclaimer that he could not predict and did not represent the groups, Mr Talpur said in response to a question: “The Baloch are not ready to give up. I don’t think they’ll give up. Despite finding over 500 bodies and with thousands going missing, they haven’t given up yet.

“Another thing that should be mentioned is that for the first time, the women of Balochistan have stepped out as well. That never happened before. The point of no return came in Balochistan in 1947.”