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In British-ruled Colonial India, Baluchistan contained a Chief Commissioner's province and princely states (including Kalat, Makran, Las Bela and Kharan) that became a part of Pakistan.[1] The province's Shahi Jirga (the grand council of tribal elders[2]) and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality,[3] according to the Pakistani narrative,[4]: 80 agreed to join Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947;[3] however, the Shahi Jirga was stripped of its members from the Kalat State prior to the vote.[4]: 81 The then-president of the Baluchistan Muslim League, Qazi Muhammad Isa, informed Muhammad Ali Jinnah that "Shahi Jirga in no way represents the popular wishes of the masses" and that members of the Kalat State were "excluded from voting; only representatives from the British part of the province voted and the British part included the leased areas of Quetta, Nasirabad Tehsil, Nushki and Bolan Agency."[4]: 81 Following the referendum, on 22 June 1947 the Khan of Kalat received a letter from members of the Shahi Jirga, as well as sardars from the leased areas of Baluchistan, stating that they, "as a part of the Baloch nation, were a part of the Kalat state too" and that if the question of Baluchistan's accession to Pakistan arise, "they should be deemed part of the Kalat state rather than (British) Balochistan".[4]: 82 This has brought into question whether an actual vote took place in the town hall "and that the announcement in favour of accession was secured through sheer manipulation."[4]: 82 Political scientist Salman Rafi Sheikh, in locating the origins of the insurgency in Balochistan, says "that Balochistan's accession to Pakistan was, as against the officially projected narrative, not based upon consensus, nor was support for Pakistan overwhelming. What this manipulation indicates is that even before formally becoming a part of Pakistan, Balochistan had fallen a prey to political victimization."[4]: 82
Initially aspiring for independence,[3] the Khan of Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after period of negotiations with Pakistan.[5] The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan led his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, to revolt against his brother's decision due to their family rift.[6] in July 1948.[7] Princes Agha Abdul Karim Baloch and Muhammad Rahim refused to lay down arms, leading the Dosht-e Jhalawan in unconventional attacks on the army until 1950.[6] The Prince indulged in Terror activities without any assistance from others.[8] Jinnah and his successors allowed Yar Khan to retain his title until the province's dissolution in 1955.
Insurgencies by Baloch nationalists took place in 1948, 1958–59, 1962–63 and 1973–77, with a new ongoing insurgency by autonomy-seeking Baloch groups since 2003.[9][10] While many Baloch support the demand for autonomy, the majority are not interested in seceding from Pakistan.[11]
At a press conference on 8 June 2015 in Quetta, Balochistan's Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti accused India's prime minister Narendra Modi of openly supporting terrorism. Bugti implicated India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of being responsible for recent attacks at military bases in Smangli and Khalid, and for subverting the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement.[12][13][14]
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