Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech on August 15 mentioning Gilgit-Balochistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the issue has become a matter of heated exchange between India and Pakistan. Modi’s speech was in response to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain’s Independence Day speech, just a day before, saying that the country will continue to support Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination. Nevertheless, Balochistan is as thorny an issue to Pakistan as Kashmir is to India.

Our archival articles help understand the complex geography and history of the restive region.

From our Archives:

Urooj Zia opines that even though the Pakistani state has apologised to Balochistan’s people for the past marginalisation of the region, little has changed on the ground (June 2010)

Massoud Ansari on how Islamabad’s wilful inability to formulate a just and equitable relationship with Balochistan has led rising numbers of disaffected Baloch citizens to attempt a separation from Pakistan (May 2007)

Moeed Yusuf’s prescription to Islamabad on how it can challenge the backward-looking and competitive sardari system of Balochistan (May 2007)

Yasir Babbar on how Zardari government’s failure to fulfill two critical promises for resolving the Balochistan conflict has made the Balochs turn away from Islamabad (April 2009)

Suhas Chakma opines that Pakistan’s long line of dictatorships has left the country with little democracy and even less federalism, which is the cause of the troubles today in Balochistan (March 2006)

Shivam Vij comparing the militarisation in two sensitive conflict zones in Southasia – Kashmir on both sides of the Indo-Pak border and Balochistan (June 2012)