Caracterización de las parcelas de trabajo

In August 1947, a round-table conference was held in Delhi to discuss the future of Kalat State and its leased areas that were under British control, including British Balochistan. At the conference, Lord Mountbatten, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan (PM of the soon-to-be Pakistan), Sultan Ahmed (PM of Kalat State) and the Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan Baluch, all participated (see Dashti, 2012). According to many writers,

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Balochistan was given the option of joining Pakistan (which was to be severed from the united India) or remaining independent (see Naseer, 2010; Bugti, 1996: 93-105). The ‘Standstill Agreement’ between the Kalat State and Pakistan, was signed on August 11, 1947 (Dashti, 2012: 330). “The very first clause of the agreement declared that the Government of Pakistan agrees that Kalat is an independent State, being quite different in status from other states in India” (Baluch, 1987: 256 cited in Dashti, 2012: 330). Gulawar Khan, in his doctoral thesis, mentions:

In order to judge the demands and position of Kalat, a meeting was called on 4th August 1947 in Delhi, which was chaired by Lord Mountbatten (the then Viceroy of India) and his constitutional advisor Lord Ismay. Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan (the first PM of Pakistan) represented Pakistan, while the Khan of Kalat (Mir Ahmed Yar Khan), Prime Minister of Kalat (Muhammad Aslam Khan), and a constitutional advisor to the Khan of Kalat (Nawabzada Sultan Ahmed) represented Kalat. After lengthy discussions over the future organization of Kalat, an agreement was reached which was issued in the form of a communiqué from the Viceroy’s House in Delhi on 11th

August 1947 (Khan, 2014: 183).16

There is some confusion surrounding this event, or perhaps it is a question of interpretation, since another version (an argument in this regard about the declaration of independence) indicates that the Khan of Kalat declared Balochistan’s independence on August 15, 1947 (Dehwar, 1994: 308). However, many are of the opinion that the agreement was reached and formally announced on 11th August and that the Khan of Kalat proclaimed independence on August 15, 1947. Dehwar (1994: 308) argues that the “Khan of Kalat, on the 15th August 1947, has proclaimed the complete independence of his state”. Kalat State regained its sovereign status and independence (see letters of the Khan of Kalat in Jinnah’s paper, Naseer, 2010; Dehwar, 1994).17

Bugti (1996: 93-105) and Dehwar

16_{For the communiqué full text see Mss Eur D971/2 and IOR/R/3/1/166}

17 _{Dehwar mentions that the Khan of Kalat declared independence while addressing the people, who had}

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(1994: 308-316) describe how, after decolonisation in September 1947, elections were held in Kalat State and the first two Balochistan legislative assemblies were formed. This was the first general election in the history of Balochistan. Members of the Kalat National Party participated in the election as candidates, winning 39 of the 52 seats.18 Further, “Balochistan’s two Houses of Parliament” (Upper and Lower based in Kalat) unanimously rejected Jinnah’s proposal after discussions (also see Dehwar, 1994: 311). The Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan Baluch, commented on Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s proposal thus:

I have great respect for your advice, I replied, and it is my considered opinion that Kalat’s merger is necessary in order to make Pakistan stronger. In this connection, I would suggest that Baluchistan, being a land of numerous tribes, the people there must be duly consulted in the matter prior to any decision I take; for, according to the prevalent tribal convention, no decision can be binding upon them unless they are taken into confidence beforehand by their Khan (Ahmed Yar Khan Baluch, 1975: 153).

Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, an assembly member at that time and a veteran Baloch leader in 1947-48, was the principal spokesman for the independent forces, according to Harrison (1981: 25). He declared the Baloch to be Muslims but this fact did not mean that it was necessary to lose their independence and to merge with other nations because of their faith. If their accession to Pakistan was necessary, as Muslims, then the Muslim states of Afghanistan and Iran should also merge with Pakistan (Kutty, 2009: 62-63). However, after 227 days (in 1948) Pakistan attacked Balochistan (Kalat) occupied it and coerced its ruler into signing a merger treaty (see Naseer, 2010; Dehwar, 1994: 308-315). According to Dashti (2012: 339),

namely the unity of Baloch as a nation spread over a large part of Asia, and complete independence for the country.

18 _{The first political reform was the formation of the two Houses (Upper and Lower). The Upper House}

(Darul Umara) members consisted of tribal Sardars who automatically filled the seats without being elected. The Lower House (Darul Awam) members were to be elected on a limited franchise by the provincial Jirga members. At that time the total number of members of the Darul Awam was fifty-five (see Dashti, 2012: 332). According to Dehwar (1994: 310), the election was held in September, 1947, and the Kalat State National Party won the majority of the seats in the Lower House.

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The short-lived independence of Balochistan ended on March 27, 1948. The Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, after hearing the news that the Pakistani troops had moved into southern coastal towns of Pasni and Jiwani, eventually succumbed and affixed his signature to the Agreement of Accession on March 27, 1948, terming his action as “dictate of history”.

The Khan of Kalat said, “I confess, I knew I was exceeding the scope of my mandate . . . Had I not taken the immediate step of signing Kalat’s merger, the position of Pakistan would definitely have gone worse. The British Agent to the Governor-General could have played havoc by leading Pakistan into a fratricide war against the Baluches” (Ahmad Yar Khan Baluch, 1975: 162).