May 23, 2013
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Description
The Balochistan conflict is an ongoing conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Government of Pakistan over Balochistan, a province in the western region of the country.
Issues range from human rights abuses, greater autonomy, increased royalties from natural resources and provincial revenue, and in some cases full secession. Recently, militants have also clashed with the Islamic Republic of Iran over its respective Baloch region, which borders Pakistan. Baloch insurgent groups operate in the Pakistani part of the region, the Iranian part of the region and in southern Afghanistan. Since the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups, unrelated to the political struggle, have also continued to rise.
Shortly after Pakistan's creation in 1947, the Pakistan Army had to subdue insurgents based in Kalat who rejected the King of Kalat's decision to accede to Pakistan. A subsequent Baloch separatist movement gained momentum during the 1960s, and amid consistent political disorder and instability at the federal level, the government ordered a military operation into the region in 1973, assisted by Iran, and inflicted heavy casualties on the separatists. Insurgency, however, again gained strength in the 1990s and 2000s.
(via Freebase)
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