Insurgents in the Mountains: Arms of Baloch Separatists

[awp_101]

Whilst the various armed conflicts of militant and separatist groups across the Middle East and South East Asia are widely covered in multiple languages, in particular the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, multiple smaller conflicts are ongoing.

One of these is the ongoing efforts of multiple armed groups in Iran, Pakistan and to a degree Afghanistan to achieve national independence for the region of Balochistan, in a manner deemed superficially similar by some to the efforts of various Kurdish armed groups to achieve statehood. Whilst these do differ, like many broad nationalist movements, groups are fragmented and offer differ in desired end goals- as an example, Jaish ul-Adl and Ansar Al-Furqan claim the mantle of Baloch nationalism but are also hardline Sunni organisations that are believed by many to maintain links to Al Qaeda.

These are not the subject of this article, but rather armed separatists operating in Pakistani Balochistan-

Insurgents in the Mountains: Arms of Baloch Separatists (https://www.calibreobscura.com/insurgents-in-the-mountains-arms-of-baloch-seperatist-bla-bras/)

[Flamingo]

When I was working southern Afghanistan the Balouchis were involved in smuggling AQ types from the Arabian Sea into Aghanistan and the Tribal areas of Pakistan. That is also where a lot of the heroin that is produced down there gets smuggled out.

[TGS]

This last aspect is the most interesting- the long wars in Afghanistan have clearly lead to spillage of modern arms across the region and beyond

The arms spillage is nothing new and not unique or due to the wars in Afghanistan.

When ya stop thinking about what's happening in Afghanistan and western Pakistan as an insurgency, and realize that the central governments never held control of the areas to begin with.....everything starts making sense. Specific to Pakistan, it was only 2018 when Pakistani law even applied to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas....prior to that Constitutional amendment, they were just a loose protectorate of Pakistan but not subject to Pakistan's laws or governance.

It's not a situation that is due to US or Russian involvement in Afghanistan. Most Pashtuns and Balochis opposed Jinnah in his goal of a united Pakistan (the country has only existed since 1947, for those unaware). Pakistan is comprised of 5 main ethnic groups....Punjabis, Sindhis, Hindko, Pashtuns and Balochis. Out of those 5, 4 had provinces created specifically for them (literally named after them). The eastern ones have an overarching Indian heritage, while the western ones (Pashtuns and Balochis) are ethnically more Persian, and wanted a 2nd coming of the Durrani Empire (in loose laymans terms) with a capitol in Kandahar, Kabul or Peshawar instead of Pakistan as we know it. Prior to 1947, Pakistan was just part of India...but the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (previously Northwest Frontier Province) and Balochistan were maybe-kinda-sorta under India but were really more accurately considered to be Afghan if using historical international borders.....and in truth, were really just autonomous tribes, not part of any sort of country as we look at the area.

So, I guess my point is that it isn't "spillage" to begin with. You're talking about groups of people that don't really even know what Russia and America are, and don't think of themselves as Pakistani or Afghan nor abide to such international borders.....because in truth, those borders are mostly imaginary. Before American guns, it was Russian guns.....and before Russian guns, they traded in British guns.

[awp_101]

You're talking about groups of people that don't really even know what Russia and America are, and don't think of themselves as Pakistani or Afghan nor abide to such international borders.....because in truth, those borders are mostly imaginary
Sounds an awful lot like Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East after WWI.

[TGS]

Sounds an awful lot like Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East after WWI.

Don't get me wrong, the difference is that these people as an aggregate population have mostly coexisted peacefully for the last few thousand years. They don't want to kill each other out of pure offense that the others exist.

Afghanistan is a weak government that will never amount to anything. Pakistan is a strong functional government that is trying to hold together a national identity that most Pakistanis abide to; the splinter groups in the tribal areas being exceptions. If Pakistan splinters, it won't necessarily be along the same genocidal lines that the Balkans has a penchant for.

[awp_101]

Don't get me wrong, the difference is that these people as an aggregate population have mostly coexisted peacefully for the last few thousand years. They don't want to kill each other out of pure offense that the others exist.

Afghanistan is a weak government that will never amount to anything. Pakistan is a strong functional government that is trying to hold together a national identity that most Pakistanis abide to; the splinter groups in the tribal areas being exceptions. If Pakistan splinters, it won't necessarily be along the same genocidal lines that the Balkans has a penchant for.
I was thinking more about people with little or no understanding of the ethnic and tribal interactions, prejudices and nuances drawing lines on a map and then wondering why not everyone is happy to be a part of Newcountryslavia.