Taking the Coastal Land of Balochistan

A narrative is brewing lately in the Think Tanks of Islamabad concerning the coastal belt of Balochistan. In no time, its impact will be seen in the policy circles, and coastal communities of Lasbela and Gwadar will fall victim to such interventions as primary stakeholders. The Think Tanks are trying to activate strategic instruments to counter the sub-nationalist narrative of Sahil-o-Wasail (control over land and coastal resources) of Baloch leadership seeking roots in the coastal region after the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Sahil-o-Wasail, in addition to mainstream Baloch movements, highlights the marginalization of the Med fisherfolk of Gwadar, and armed resistance is being presented as a solution. The Think Tanks suggest delimitation of the entire coastal belt (1001km) of Pakistan to make it a federal province.

My two-year stay at the Institute of Policy Studies (2018-2020) was involved in perceptions mapping coastal communities of Balochistan. I was part of the discussions about CPEC-related development in the region. And delimitation of the coastal belt was suggested as a solution to various socio-economic issues of the locals. The Think Tanks put up arguments like creating the Balochistan Agency and how it was illegally colonized by the British in 1877. They squeeze in references that, first of all, Gwadaris, Makranis, and Lasbelis have nothing to do with mainstream Baloch secessionist ideology. Khan of Kalat had lost political control outside Kalat State in 1847. Balochistan had five units at the time of partition, and Oman ruled Gwadar. There were the British Chief Commissioner’s Balochistan, Princely State of Kharan, Princely State of Lasbela, Princely State of Makran, and the Princely State of Kalat. They insist that in-land Baloch nationalists from Kalat, like Akhtar Mengal, are on a solo ride to prove that Balochistan never acceded to Pakistan.

For Islamabad, Balochistan is anything but one sub-national entity. It is a place of difference and several identities, especially the coastal region, which thrives on non-tribal structure. With ethnicities and people from different backgrounds, the people are united by their functionality in earning livelihood and dependence on unique coastal habitat. Think Tanks persists in the fact that the people of the coastal belt of Balochistan have alienated themselves from mainstream Baloch hierarchies and groups, and remained the most vulnerable and detached among the broader Baloch landscape and sub-nationalism. Most of them identify themselves as Med – fisherfolk, and do not always belong to one ethnicity. A large proportion of the fisherfolk population has African origins. Besides the Ghulam and the Darzada, the Med fisherfolk never accepted as racial Baloch. Hafeez Jamali is an anthropologist and Head of CPEC Cell in Islamabad. He responded to my query on the History of Med that “it goes back to pre-Muslim times- perhaps before Baloch arrival in Makran when Med and Jat tribes dominated the Arabian sea coast in Sindh and Balochistan and the Indus river delta. For instance, medieval Arab sources tell us that Med/Jat pirates had looted the Arab trading vessel bound to Basra, which Hajjaj bin Yousuf used as a pretext to send Bin Qasim’s campaign to Sindh in 711 AD. Interestingly, Sindhi ruler Raja Dahir reply to Hajjaj’s warning that the pirates were too powerful for him to control and that he should not be held responsible for crimes taking place on the high seas. Having said that, the modern legal and traditional economy of fishermen along the Mekran coast developed in the wake of successive Portuguese and Omani encounters. Local economy and society in major harbour towns such as Sonmiani, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, and Chahbahar had a cosmopolitan character comprising Arab/Baloch rulers, Hindu financiers, and harbor contractors, Ismaili (Khoja) traders, and working-class Baloch sailors and fishermen”.

It is true that, historically, Lasbela has been a feudatory of the Khanate of Kalat. However, it was always ruled by the Jams of Lasbela domestically. Even today, the electoral politics in Lasbela is predominated by Jam of Lasbela with a safe seat, PB-50, in the Provincial Assembly. Their political relations remained tense for the larger part of the history with Khanate. In 1947, Lasbela categorically rejected Kalat’s claims of suzerainty and demanded immediate accession to Pakistan. Only when the Balochistan Province was formed in 1970, Lasbela was placed into the Kalat division. Earlier it was a separate district and made a part of the Karachi division in 1960. Lasbela is inhabited mostly by Lasi speaking tribes, a dialect close to Sindhi. The fisheries of Somniani and Gadani in Lasbela had their markets in Karachi rather than Kalat. The people of Lasbela and Karachi districts thrived on strong common socio-economic linkages away from any affinity or affiliation with the historical and sociopolitical structure of Kalat state.

On the other hand, Gwadar has been part of Makran and locally ruled by different families. In the latter part of the 18th century, it was annexed into the Khanate of Kalat by Mir Nasir Khan Noori. The local chiefs of Makran belonging to the Gichki family showed formidable resistance. They also had to give up their faith in Zikrism. Noori allowed an exiled Omani prince to reside in Gwadar and granted him a part of the area's revenue for his expenses. He retained control over Gwadar upon his return to Oman. When Makran demanded accession to Pakistan, Gwadar remained a part of Oman. It continued to do so until 1958, when the wife of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Feroz Noon Khan, Viqar-un-Nisa, led a fierce campaign to take Gwadar from Oman. Gwadar was immediately made a tehsil of Makran district upon accession.

Growing militancy and subaltern situation of coastal communities “motivated” Think Tanks in Islamabad to recommend delimitation of the coastal belt. Already corruption in the fisheries department is crippling the economy, while trawlers operating illegally within the territorial sea of Balochistan are harming the local fisherfolk. Besides, large-scale land acquisitions by the “individuals'' create fear among the Med fisherfolk of losing their ancestral lands and the sea. They argue that coastal people along the coast of Lasbela (178km) and Gwadar (600km) districts of Balochistan with a significant presence on the Sindh coast form a distinct yet heterogeneous group. Their habitat, livelihood, culture, traditions, hopes, fears, and challenges are mostly the same. Delimitation is indispensable to reunite and integrate the coastal belt and bring under the federal government's direct control to plan, manage, and govern the coast and the maritime zones of Pakistan. With defining roles for relevant authorities on social, environmental, political, strategic, and economic aspects. While in reality, the federal government wants to rely upon the strengths of coastal and marine resources of Balochistan and Sindh.

It reminds me of a review of Declan Walsh's book: “The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches From a Precarious State”: that urban sophisticates from Karachi have a habit of rolling their eyes when you mention Islamabad and regard it as being in the middle of nowhere. This irritation is rooted in the Muhajir (Urdu-speaking community, who migrated from India) or, more precisely, Pakistan's ethnic controversies. When Muhajir felt betrayed as they contributed more to Pakistan's making, Punjabis institutionalized their monopoly and even held a larger share in the federal government and influenced the masses to move Karachi's capital Islamabad, which is almost inaccessible to people of the coast. Many are concerned that delimitation would feel like fueling the identity politics dating back to the partition. The people of the coast would share the fate of Biharis, who never had the opportunity to take part in state affairs. In comparison, Punjabi would have taken hold of the federal establishment and interfered in provincial matters, ridiculing the 18^th amendment.

Gwadar and Lasbela districts together now form a single NA constituency NA-272 Lasbela-cum-Gwadar replacing Gwadar-Kech (Turbat). The population of Gwadar is mainly fisherfolk, and unlike the Lasbela district, there is no large-scale agriculture or industrial activity. Both adhere to different cultures, geography, and language. Arid, with mining and excavation underway, Lasbela is more industrial. The people of Gwadar stands in a clear minority to Lasbela. They call themselves Makrani, speak Balochi, and Lasbela has always been a separate entity to them. According to a recent study conducted at the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, 46% of members of coastal communities showed confidence in the delimitation of the coastal belt of Balochistan. It is because a dam in Turbat was constructed in 2006 to facilitate Gwadar, and the people of Turbat resisted the construction. The people with agricultural lands could not afford water shortage. However, it deprived Gwadaris of their due share. Another reason was the election of MNA Aslam Bhootani from Lasbela, who now represents Gwadar-cum-Lasbela. He addressed the concerns of the fisherfolk of Gwadar on the illegal intrusion of Sindh trawlers in the territorial waters of Balochistan. A request was previously ignored by Mir Hamal Kalmati, who is a member of the Provincial Assembly from Gwadar. The remaining 54% express dissatisfaction over delimitation as they feel closer to Kech because of linguistic and cultural similarities.

Such descriptions and events point out the pieces of a massive puzzle. However, the “center” has put into action its plan to gradually “control” the sea resources and the coast. The President has promulgated the Island Ordinance 2020. Allegedly it will put under control the islands near the coast and offshore under the federal government's authority. When already the internal and territorial waters are the jurisdiction of the provinces. It is indeed a brazen violation of the 18th amendment.

The center will mold the constitution for national interests. However, it must showcase sincere efforts and opportunities for coastal communities and particularly the fisherfolk. To make them part of the power-sharing arrangements and value their collective identity.