SELF-DETERMINATION, BALOCHISTAN AND THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL PEACE

The British colonized and divided Balochistan into parts, which end up merging into Persia in the west in 1871, northern parts were occupied by Afghanistan in 1893, and the semi-independent eastern parts were re-occupied by Pakistan after a short independent tenure of only 227 days. Resource-rich Balochistan is now being plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and insurgency leading to thousands of casualties. Their culture destroyed, their language banned in schools, and acid being thrown on young Baloch girls for attending schools. They are minority in their own homeland. The aim of this paper is to present the horrendous situation faced by the Baloch people and to discuss whether they deserve a right to self determination and self government.