Free Balochistan Movement

Free Balochistan Movement headed by Hyrbyair Marri is a peaceful and democratic political party struggling for independence of Balochistan. The FBM strives to inform the international community about Iranian and Pakistani state barbarism in Balochistan.

The ancestral homeland of the Baloch people is called Balochistan, yet today the Baloch are not the masters of their own country. A series of calamitous events - not least the imperialist wars of conquest in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - have distorted Balochistan’s natural development and have prevented the Baloch people from determining their own future.

A defining point in the history of Balochistan, however, was in 1666 when different Baloch confederacies were unified and brought under a single Baloch national state. Following from this moment of national unity, the Baloch nation established reciprocal diplomatic relations with their neighbours and beyond.

The historical and geopolitical borders of Balochistan were drawn up in the eighteenth century by the Baloch political leader and ruler Mir Naseer Khan Baloch also known as Noori Naseer Khan (1749-1794).

The British Empire invaded the sovereign state of Balochistan on 13 November 1839. As the result of the British colonial policy of ‘divide and rule’ Balochistan was subsequently divided into three parts. By drawing an arbitrary line in 1871 called the Goldsmid Line, western part of Balochistan was given to the Qajar Dynasty. A second line, the Durand Line, was drawn in the year 1893. With this line, the northern part of Balochistan was given to Afghanistan. These artificial borders were drawn against the consent, interest and well-being of the Baloch nation.

The occupation of Western Balochistan by the Qajar Dynasty was relatively short-lived. The Dynasty lost its dominance over Balochistan during the first decade of the twentieth century. The British in 1916 openly recognised and acknowledged Baloch political leaders as the effective rulers of Western Balochistan. In 1928 the Persian army headed by Reza Khan once again invaded and took control of western Balochistan.

Yet the Baloch nation has never relented in its struggle for independence. The systematic national political struggle to regain full independence from the British began in the early 1920s. Due to the ceaseless struggle of the Baloch people, Balochistan became independent on 11 August 1947 after the departure of the British from Eastern Balochistan. The news of Balochistan’s independence was announced in New Delhi and reported in The New York Times on 12 August 1947. The Balochistan First Chamber in their session, held from 12th-15th December 1947, approved the declaration of Balochistan’s independence unanimously; the Balochistan Upper House also endorsed the First Chamber’s ruling in their session that was held from 2nd-4th January 1948.

The artificial Islamic State of Pakistan was created on 14 August 1947. This new state of Pakistan has remained a real threat to the sovereignty of Balochistan from the very day of its creation. Within eight months of its formation Pakistan forcefully occupied the sovereign state of Balochistan on 27 March 1948.

This occupation runs counter to universally accepted notions of the right of freedom of peoples and to the right to self-government. And the recognition of these rights, and the injustice of occupation, is now drawing the Baloch masses into a united campaign against the oppressing powers. Their democratic struggle is gaining momentum and approaching a critical historical crossroad. With each passing day the masses of Balochistan are becoming more conscious of their birth-right.
Collectively they are beginning to understand that the occupation and oppression now threaten their very existence and are the reasons of systematic extinction of their beloved nation. They know if the current occupation remains unchallenged they will be marginalised and turned into a minority in their own ancestral homeland.
Under the domination of foreign occupying states, Balochistan’s economy, society and its political, educational and legal institutions have remained disastrously underdeveloped. The neo-colonial rulers have been imposing their worldview on Balochistan discarding the accumulated insight and knowledge of past Baloch generations. These actions have undermined the culture, language, literature, media, music, art and moral and social values of Balochistan.
The occupation and oppression allows the rulers to manipulate the people, and has restricted ‘civil society’ in Balochistan from its own independent course of development. Moreover, the occupying powers have succeeded in transforming the whole of Balochistan into a vast military garrison and a land of countless state prisons. In the process Balochistan has been transformed into a playground of imported Jihadists, religious fanatics and unscrupulous state backed looters. The invading states’ organs operate with full impunity and persecute anyone at will. Their illegitimate power is absolute. They arrest, shoot, imprison, torture and kill.
The victims include the most educated, conscientious and dynamic members of the Baloch society. The victims include Baloch students, poets, workers, farmers, shopkeepers, writers, musicians, doctors, religious scholars, teachers, university professors and political leaders. Even Balochistan’s senior citizens and children are not spared from the vindictive brutality of states’ organs. Baloch political and human rights activists are subjected to medieval torture. Many Baloch victims have vanished never to be seen again. Families and friends of these victims are left with no other option but to live in a state of perpetual sorrow, fear and anguish.
Yet, amidst this terrorising occupation the traditions of the Baloch people remain un-dimmed and embedded in today’s Baloch culture. The principal ingredients of secularity, moderation, openness, liberalism, and tolerant and peaceful disposition, are typical characteristics of Baloch social and moral values. The Baloch nation is a secular nation, which allows and respects diverse views and beliefs. The sanctity of the right to life and liberty are the paramount traits of Baloch traditions − and state sanctioned capital punishment is alien to the Baloch moral and political codes. In sum, the Baloch people possess all the characteristics and values needed to develop into a vibrant civil, democratic and open society.
Also, the Baloch homeland is rich in natural resources and Balochistan is located in one of the most strategic locations in the world. It is a corridor that links the Far East and South Asia to the Middle East and Central Asia. Balochistan can act as the depot for the exchange of goods between the aforementioned vast rich regions. International trade between these regions and beyond could be based on the countless ports that exist on the coast of Balochistan. Furthermore this coast could be utilized for the fishing and farming of seafood. Balochistan’s extensive land can be used for farming, agriculture and manufacturing. Its climate is also suitable for harvesting solar, wind and sea energy. Most economic resource indicators favour Balochistan’s speedy development. The relatively small population compared to its economic potential assign and place Balochistan in the potential rank of very wealthy regions. Under a free and democratic government, Balochistan could be transformed, within a moderately short period of time, into one of the most modern, affluent and democratic nations in the region.

Due to the unique location of Balochistan and its rich natural resources and secular culture, there is no reason for the economy of Balochistan to remain static. The illegal occupation of Balochistan has acted as the main obstacle to Balochistan’s economic development; and had its peoples been free of occupation its economic growth - as well as its social, political and legal development - would have easily outstripped that of neighbouring countries.
It is the right of the people of Balochistan to determine their own destiny and their present and future well-being and prosperity, free from any illegal occupation and external subjugation. An informed and fair-minded Baloch democrat would never willingly remain confined under the bondage of enslavement under a colonial power. Every Baloch has experienced the indignity of being regarded as second-class citizens in their own homeland.
We are now united in our determination to break free and to establish full independence for our people. We seek nothing less than to join the community of free nations. Only by regaining full independence, and the restoration of a democratic Balochistan, we will be able to guarantee full rights to every citizen in Balochistan. This charter is the road map that will enable us to achieve this noble objective for our nation and our homeland.