Balochistan is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. It is the largest province in terms of land area, forming the southwestern region of the country. Its provincial capital and largest city is Quetta.
The Baloch or Baluch are an Iranian peoples who live mainly in the Balochistan region of the southeastern-most edge of the Iranian plateau in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, as well as in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Balochistan National Party or Balochistan National Party (Mengal) is a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan. BNP believes in more provincial rights and greater autonomy for Baluchistan province through peaceful and democratic struggle.
The Khanate of Kalat was a princely state that existed from 1666 to 1955 in the centre of the modern-day province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Prior to that they were subjects of Mughal emperor Akbar. Ahmedzai Baloch and Brahui Khan ruled the state independently until 1839, when it became a self-governing state in a subsidiary alliance with British India. After the signature of the Treaty of Mastung by the Khan of Kalat and the Baloch Sardars in 1876, Kalat became part of the Baluchistan Agency. It was briefly independent from 12 August 1947 till 27 March 1948, later the Khan acceded his state to the new Dominion of Pakistan. It remained a princely state of Pakistan until 1955, when it was incorporated into the country.
The insurgency in Balochistan is a guerrilla war waged by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran, and the Balochistan region of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources like natural gas, oil, coal, copper, sulphur, fluoride and gold, this is the least developed province in Pakistan. Armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities in the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan.
The Balochistan Liberation Army, also known as the Baloch Liberation Army is a Baloch militant organization based in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The BLA is listed as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and the United Kingdom, while the U.S. Department of State has described its actions as terrorism. Since 2004 the BLA has waged an armed struggle against the state of Pakistan for what it claims as equal rights and self-determination for the Baloch people in Pakistan, who it claims have been subjected to repression for decades. The BLA is operating mainly in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan where it carries out attacks against the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Baloch Liberation Army became publicly known during the summer of 2000, after it claimed credit for a series of bombing attacks on Pakistani authorities.
Balochistan is an arid desert and mountainous region in south-western Asia. It comprises the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and the southern areas of Afghanistan including Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Balochistan borders the Pashtunistan region to the north, Sindh and Punjab to the east, and Persian regions to the west. South of its southern coastline, including the Makran Coast, are the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
The Baloch Students Organization is a student organisation that campaigns for the students of Pakistan's Balochistan Province. It was founded as a student movement on 26 November 1967 in Karachi and remains the largest ethnic Baloch student body in the country. It got divided due to ideological differences. BSO Pajjar and BSO Mengal affiliated itself with the parliamentary framework of Pakistan. Dr Allah Nazar, founder of pro independence wing, In 2002 while he was studying in college, he created a breakaway faction — BSO–Azad — that advocated struggle for an independent Balochistan based on pre-colonial Baloch country. The Pakistani government banned the BSO Azad on 15 March 2013, as a terrorist organisation, an action condemned by the Asian Human Rights Commission.
Abdul Hai Baloch is a prominent social & political activist from Balochistan, Pakistan. He was born on 1 February 1946 at village Chhalgari District Bolan in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.Abdul Hai Baloch did MBBS from Dow Medical college.He was elected as a member of Pakistan National Assembly during the election of 1970. He was also the President of the National Party. Dr. Abdul Hai received Jalib Peace Awarad 2016 by Arts Council of Pakistan.
The Baloch diaspora refers to Baloch people, and their descendants, who have emigrated to places outside the Balochistan region of South-West Asia – a region stretching from southwestern Pakistan to southeastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. The Baloch diaspora is found throughout the Middle East, South Asia, Turkmenistan, East Africa, Europe, North America and in other parts of the world.
There are separatist movements in Pakistan which are based on ethnic and regional nationalism, including independence movements in Balawaristan, Sindh, and Balochistan. The government of Pakistan has attempted to crush these separatist movements.
Balochi cuisine is the food and cuisine of the Baloch people from the Balochistan region, comprising the Pakistani Balochistan province, the Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran and Balochistan, Afghanistan. Baloch food has a regional variance in contrast to the many cuisines of Pakistan and Iran.
Abdul Malik Baloch was the 21st Chief Minister of Balochistan, Pakistan from 7 June 2013 to 23 December 2015. He was born in Turbat District, Makran and he is a member of the Hooth tribe.
Abdul Qadir Baloch is a Pakistani politician and retired army general who served as Minister for States and Frontier Regions, in Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Baloch briefly served as the Governor of Balochistan during Pervez Musharraf rule in 2003 and as the Minister for States and Frontier Regions in the third Sharif ministry.
Human rights violations in the Balochistan province of Pakistan have drawn concern and criticism in the international community, being described by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as having reached epidemic proportions. The violations have taken place during the ongoing Balochistan conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Government of Pakistan over the rule of Balochistan, the largest province by land area of modern-day Pakistan.
Malik Siraj Akbar is a Baloch journalist based in the United States. He is the editor-in-chief of the Baloch Hal, the first online English language newspaper of Pakistan's Balochistan Province, Enkaar, a liberal Urdu language news magazine, and a contributing writer for The Huffington Post. He lives in exile in the United States.
Nawab Sanaullah Khan Zehri was the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 24 December 2015 to 9 December 2017. He belongs to Channal Zarakzai family and also the Nawab of the Zehri tribe and chief of Jhalawan. Zehri succeeded Abdul Malik Baloch as chief minister Balochistan, Pakistan on 24 December 2015 as part of the power sharing deal brokered in the resort town of Murree. Zehri is the central president of the Pakistan Muslim League's Balochistan branch and a confidant of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Baloch Americans are Americans of Baloch descent.
Balochi cinema refers to the Balochi-language film industry in Pakistan, Iran, and among the Baloch diaspora.
Mir Sarfraz Chakar Domki is a Pakistani politician who is the current Provincial Minister of Balochistan for Labour and Manpower, in office since 8 September 2018. He has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan since August 2018. Previously he served as Provincial Minister of Balochistan for Culture, Archives and Tourism, from 30 August 2018 to 8 September 2018.
