Just like the people of Afghanistan, the people of Balochistan have been victims of their geographical location. The British fought a bloody battle for 40 long years against the Baloch tribes in order to gain control of the Bolan Pass and Quetta so as to protect their Indian empire from Czarist Russia. And just as the British weakened Afghanistan by dividing its Pakhtun population with the help of the Durand Line, they weakened the Baloch resistance by gifting a small part of Balochistan to Afghanistan, a small part to Iran and keeping the rest as part of their Indian empire. The British set up an important cantonment in Quetta to defend the strategically important Bolan Pass.

After the collapse of Czarist Russia, the Soviet Union became interested in Balochistan as much as it became interested in conquering Afghanistan, hoping that through Balochistan it could reach the warm water seaports in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf region.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Balochistan's importance increased in the eyes of the US. The province once again became a victim of its geography, as the area lies along the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, two most strategic points for the US military in the Persian Gulf. And the recent US-Iran dispute has further increased the geographical importance of Balochistan in the eyes of US policymakers. The Chinese presence in Gwadar is also a matter of anxiety for the US, as it doesn't want the Chinese to be anywhere near its military bases in the Gulf area.

My visits to Balochistan and study of its history and problems have led me to the conclusion that Balochistan is a victim of its geography in two ways: first, its location has been the cause of a struggle between the big military powers; second, the Baloch people have become victims of the cruel geographical conditions in Balochistan where for miles and miles one sees rocks and deserts -- no vegetation, no signs of water; in winter, the temperature drops below zero and in summer it shoots up to 130 degrees. No wonder, a Western writer has said that if there is any place on earth that resembles the conditions on the planet Mars, it is Balochistan.

Balochistan has a small population compared to its geographical size. This could have been an advantage but instead it has proved to be a drawback because in the eyes of the policymakers in Islamabad, the province doesn't deserve as much attention as the provinces with higher populations. But the policymakers, under the influence of vested interests, overlook the important fact that Balochistan is a tribal society where the actual representatives of the various tribes are the Sardars, whose survival depends on their looking after the interests of the tribes they represent. Some of the prominent tribes in the province are Bugti, Mengal, Marri, Mazari, Zehri, Raisani, Gichki, Achakzai and Mandokhel. Since the creation of Pakistan the Sardars have had no direct say in the administration of Balochistan. Therefore, they ask: Are we responsible for lack of clean water, the poor health and education facilities, the poor roads and transport system the lack of agricultural and industrial development, the lack of jobs in the various civil and military departments?

The Sardars argue that they can only help the tribes they represent if Balochistan enjoys maximum tribal autonomy, the Baloch tribes get their fair share of the revenue collected from Balochistan and the right to explore and exploit the natural resources of Balochistan. The tribal Sardars also demand a fair share for the Baloch people in Pakistan's civil and military service.

Instead of giving Balochistan tribal autonomy, the vested interests in Pakistan created One Unit, which further weakened the position of Balochistan vis-‡-vis the other provinces. On top of that, they attacked the Khan of Kalat, the mightiest of the tribal chiefs: he was arrested in his palace, his ancestral valuables were seized, and over 300 of his tribal supporters arrested with him. One tribal elder took up arms against the government and demanded the restoration of the Khan of Kalat and the end of One Unit. He was assured that he and his followers would be granted amnesty if they laid down their weapons. After they surrendered, they were all arrested and some of them hanged for treason. Instead of trying to remove the grievances of the people, the policymakers thought of a military solution to the problem and General Tikka Khan became notorious as the "Butcher of Balochistan."

What was the result of this policy? Some of the Sardars went into exile and some went underground. The worst mistake was the dismissal of an elected government in the province, which further fanned the feelings of Baloch nationalism. During this period, the Baloch tribes in Iran were being victimised by the Shah of Iran. The events in Iran and Pakistan greatly upset a Baloch employee of Radio Pakistan. He started a Baloch liberation movement to unite all the Baloch tribes in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and create an independent, sovereign Baloch state. His attempt, however, failed.

After suffering at the hands of the military, the Baloch Sardars are extremely sensitive about the military setting up cantonments in key areas in the province. The government argues that these cantonments are not only to protect the infrastructure and gas installations but also prevent smuggling of arms into Balochistan. The Sardars argue that nobody is more interested in protecting the infrastructure of Balochistan than the Sardars themselves. They also argue that whatever arms are available in Balochistan are those that were supplied to the tribes by the US to fight against the Soviets. The Sardars insist that the destruction of gas pipelines, bomb blasts and rocket attacks is the work of vested interests that want military control over Balochistan.

The Baloch tribes that lived within the geographical area of Sui considered themselves lucky. But today this geographical advantage has become a disadvantage, as the military has decided to remove all Baloch settlements within 15 kilometres of the gas installations, as a result of which many people in Sui would become homeless. While other provinces have been benefiting from Sui gas, the Baloch people living in Sui did not benefit from their own natural resource.

The rape of a lady doctor allegedly by a military officer has further complicated the problem and added to the resentment of the Baloch Sardars. During colonial rule, the British had appointed Sir Robert Sandeman, a brilliant officer, for the restoration of peace in Balochistan. Sandeman came to the conclusion that the best way to restore peace in the province was to provide maximum autonomy to the tribal system.

Balochistan can play an important role as a bridge for the promotion of trade between Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan. But this is only possible if the vested interests stop exploiting its geographical location and resources and stop blaming the Sardars and the tribal system for all that is happening there today.