Union: How Baluchistan Liberation Army united the elite (two)
Union: How Baluchistan Liberation Army united the elite
2.The struggle line between Baluchistan middle class and intellectuals
2.1 Organizational changes in Balochistan
In recent years, the development of the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army has shown a trend from tribal struggle to all-round united front, and they continue to strengthen the solicitation of the elite class in Balochistan. Internally, the activities of the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army can be roughly divided into two stages. In the first stage, the Marri family of Sadr tribe was in charge of it. In the second stage, it was under the leadership of basheer ZEB and Aslam Balochistan, when the Baluchistan Liberation Army was no longer led by the Sadr tribal chief family, but managed by middle-class local middle-level commander in Baluchistan. In 2018, Aslam Balochistan was killed, and the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army (Balochistan) is currently under the direct leadership of Assad’s former chairman, Bashir ZEB.
The shift of leadership of the Baluchistan Liberation Army from the marri cheiften family to the Aslam Balochistan group was not simply about alternating command due to internal strife. The marri family still presents the traditional Baluchistan style power structure and interest relations, and its leadership style is similar to that of tribal chiefs, but Aslam is not a member of this group. As a middle-level commander of the non-Sadr tribe, his successful coup and command of the Baluchistan Liberation Army means that this organization began to more represent the interests of the Baluchistan middle class.
2.2 The struggle line of Baluchistan elite
Different from the form of struggle with tribes as the main body, the struggle between the separatist middle class and intellectuals in Baluchistan is mainly the parliamentary struggle above the political arena and the social movements under the political arena. There are also a few radical factions that have established guerrilla groups with middle-class backgrounds. In terms of the objectives of the struggle, most of the middle class and intellectuals pursue a higher degree of autonomy rather than independence, while a few pursue independence.
2.2.1 Parliamentary struggle (moderates)
Parliamentary struggle is the form of struggle advocated by moderates (in pursuit of autonomy). There are many moderate Baluchistan nationalist parties in Baluchistan. The Pakistani government allows them to occupy seats in the national parliament and provincial councils, so as to participate in legal political activities. The moderate Baluchistan political parties include the National Party, the Baluchistan National Party mengal faction, the Baluchistan National Party People’s party and the Republican Kuomintang. These four parties occupy 14 of the 65 seats in the provincial government councils and 7 of the 442 seats in the national parliament.
2.2.2 Moderate student movement (moderates)
The legal organizations that not participate in politics are mainly moderates in Baluchistan student organizations, including the three branches of Awami, pajjar and mengal. Most of them are intellectuals, with many young students participating. The overall purpose is to expand the rights and interests of Baluchistan through legal means.
2.2.3 Social movements (hardliners)
In terms of social movements, moderate and hard line organizations will plan many activities with Baluchistan nationalism. However, non violent and non cooperative activities with confrontational nature are basically led by Azad in Baluchistan student organizations. Protests, demonstrations and hunger strikes are often adopted by hardliners, and many hardliners tend to be independent. Some of the most radical hardliners even set up an organization called ‘Baluchistan Liberation Front’ to confront the Pakistani government by force.
Pakistan’s political situation in the past decade can be divided into two periods. The period led by the Muslim League (Sharif) from 2013 to 2018 and the period under the leadership of Justice Movement Party (Imran) from 2018 to 2022. During these two periods, the living space of the Baluchistan legal party was not expanded or compressed, but at a relatively small level. During these two periods, there were 14 Baluchistan political party seats in the Provincial Government Council, accounting for 21.5%, and the composition of the parties has changed. In addition, Baluchis accounted for 35.5% of the population in the province[1], ranking the first among all ethnic groups in the province.
However, the Baluchistan provincial council has always been dominated by Punjab elites in these ten years. Their party seats that representing the will of the central government have always been able to suppress the sum of Baluchistan political parties, which are divided into four small independent parties. Therefore, the disadvantageous position of Balochistan political parties in the provincial parliamentary struggle will not change because of who is in charge of the central government.
2.3 Baluchistan nationalist movement
The Baluchistan nationalist social movements gave birth to many hardline radicals, but it did not mean that it was a completely independent activity. There are many moderate social movements to fight for the rights that Baluchistan deserve.
In recent years, the Pakistani government has been indifferent to the social activities of Baluchis and has taken many measures to suppress them. Many Baluchistan nationalists have been arrested, kidnapped, missing or maltreated. In many cases, such repressive measures are not carried out through legal means, which indicates that there is a great possibility of opacity and innocent injury. Naturally, it caused dissatisfaction among many middle class and intellectuals[2]. For example, Zahid Baloch, the leader of the Azad faction of the Baluchistan student organization, disappeared after his arrest in 2014 and is believed to have died. Many people have the same disappearance experience. The Pakistani government lacks a reasonable explanation for this. On December 22, 2020, Karima Baloch, a Baloch woman activist, was found dead in Canada, and it was said that she was murdered[3].
In terms of economic situation, the Sharif faction focuses on the interests of Punjab elites and is not willing to distribute economic dividends to Baluchistan. With rich experience and sophisticated means, although the Sharif faction could win over the upper class of Baluchistan through the policy of “suppressing and pacifying”, its economic policy makes the middle class of Baluchistan dissatisfied[4]. After Imran Khan came to power, the Justice Movement Party, which advocated fairness and justice, gave a lot of economic assistance and sought to share the development interests with the local people in Baluchistan. However, it was a young political party in power for the first time, and there were many deficiencies in the specific measures. Moreover, the nationalism that it vigorously advocated also made the Baluchistan people disgusted. During Imran Khan’s short term in power, Pakistan encountered two major challenges: the debt crisis and the COVID-19. Although the Pakistani government managed to survive the crisis without major social unrest, the overall economy of the country was obviously bruised, and the interests of the middle class in Balochistan were damaged to some extent. All these aggravated social conflicts, and the social movements mixed with Baluchistan nationalist sentiments also occur frequently. In this case, many young middle class and intellectuals who are dissatisfied with the society will inevitably go astray and be used by radical factions after being instigated by some ulterior motives of the independent elements.
2.4 Radical evolution of moderates
Finally, under the influence of various complex factors, some of the original moderate parties began to feel confused about the original way of peaceful struggle, and began to use force, specifically manifested in accepting the guidance of radical thinking in Azad faction, joining the guerrillas of the liberation front, and colluding with old-fashioned rebel organizations such as the Baluchistan Liberation Army. In recent years, the Baluchistan liberation front, an armed entity of the middle-class radical faction, has been rampant. The organization is notorious for its habit of attacking civilian targets. It is also highly exclusive and often attacks foreign populations. In April 2015, 20 construction workers from other provinces were killed by armed elements of the organization, and in November 2017, 15 foreign immigrants who were crossing the border were killed[5]. On January 25 this year, armed elements of the Baluchistan liberation army attacked a Pakistani army post located in the kaih District of Baluchistan province, killing 10 soldiers and seizing weapons in the post, while the armed elements lost four people. This incident shows that the organization has a certain combat capacity and dares to attack the fixed positions of the army[6]。
[1] https://www.dawn.com/news/1410447
[2] https://m.dw.com/en/wahid-baloch-and-the-plight-of-missing-persons-in-pakistan/a-36681364
[3] https://www.dawn.com/news/1688050/our-festering-wound
[4] https://www.dawn.com/news/1686071
[5] https://thediplomat.com/2015/06/cracking-pakistans-baloch-insurgency/
[6] https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ten-pakistani-soldiers-killed-insurgent-attack-army-says-2022-01-28/
In recent years, the development of the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army has shown a trend from tribal struggle to all-round united front, and they continue to strengthen the solicitation of the elite class in Balochistan. Internally, the activities of the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army can be roughly divided into two stages. In the first stage, the Marri family of Sadr tribe was in charge of it. In the second stage, it was under the leadership of basheer ZEB and Aslam Balochistan, when the Baluchistan Liberation Army was no longer led by the Sadr tribal chief family, but managed by middle-class local middle-level commander in Baluchistan. In 2018, Aslam Balochistan was killed, and the Baluchistan people’s Liberation Army (Balochistan) is currently under the direct leadership of Assad’s former chairman, Bashir ZEB.