First Balochistan conflict

The First Balochistan conflict was a rebellion instigated by Prince Agha Abdul Karim and Prince Muhammad Rahim of Kalat in response to the accession of Kalat and with the aim of establishing Kalat as a sovereign state, independent of Pakistan. With the arrest of the princes and the loss of many men, the rebellion came to an end in 1950 as Pakistan recaptured all territories.

First Balochistan conflict
Part of Insurgency in Balochistan
Map of the Baluchistan Agency
Date July 1948 – 1950 Location Jhalawan, Balochistan Result Pakistani victory Suppression of rebellion Surrender of Prince Agha Abdul Karim and Prince Muhammad Rahim Territorial changes Pakistan recaptures Jhalawan
Belligerents
Pakistan	Kalat insurgents
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Until September 1948) Khawaja Nazimuddin (From September 1948) Liaquat Ali Khan	Prince Agha Abdul Karim  Prince Muhammad Rahim
Units involved
Pakistan Army	Dosht-e Jhalawan
Strength
Unknown	~1,000 militants
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

Background

Balochistan contained a Chief Commissioner's province and four princely states under the British Raj. The province's Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality opted for Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947.^[1] Three of the princely states, Makran, Las Bela and Kharan, acceded to Pakistan in 1947 after independence.^[2] The ruler of the fourth princely state, the Khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan, who used to call Jinnah his 'father',^[3] declared Kalat's independence as this was one of the options given to all of the 535 princely states by British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.^[4]

Conflict

Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after the 'strange help' of All India Radio and a period of negotiations and bureaucratic tactics used by Pakistan.^[3] The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan, led his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, to revolt against his brother's decision^[5] in July 1948.^[6] Princes Karim Khan and Muhammad Rahim refused to lay down their arms and led the Dosht-e Jhalawan (numbering around 1000 militants)^[7] in unconventional attacks on the army.^{[5][8][9][10][11][12]}

Battle of Jhalawan

The Baloch militants captured the area of Jhalawan and used it as a base to stage further operations against Pakistani armed forces; after an offensive Pakistani forces were able to recapture this area. The militants suffered heavy casualties and were demoralised which ultimately contributed to their surrender.^{[13][8][12][11]}

Foreign involvement

Prince Karim Khan and some other Baloch separatist leaders such as Qadir Bakhsh Nizamani, Muhammad Hussain Anqa, Malik Saeed Dehwar, and Moulvi Muhammad Afzal, went to Afghanistan in May 1948, to obtain material and financial support from the Afghan government and the Soviet Union,^[13][7] but they failed to obtain any financial or military assistance although Prince Abdul Karim was granted refuge in Afghanistan^[13][14] Afghan government wanted to rather annex Balochistan as it was in desperately in need of a sea port. Prince Karim failed to get any support from the Afghan government and the local Balochs, who were not interested in rebelling against the government of Pakistan.

Aftermath and Surrender

In 1950, they returned to Pakistan upon being granted amnesty by some Baloch statesmen and Pakistani government however on their return, they were arrested against the truce and sentenced to ten years in Haripur jail.^[15] Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until the province's dissolution in 1955.

See also

• Second Balochistan conflict
• Third Balochistan conflict
• 1970s operation in Balochistan
• Insurgency in Balochistan
• Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad