The conspiracies of the Nawabs and the conspirators of the states: the story of Kharan, Lasbela and Makran's accession to Pakistan.

It was a fight between two relatives. In this battle, first the powerful circles of the region joined, then the political powers of the region jumped, finally the world powers also became active.

This event begins with a wish. Dr. Salahuddin Mengal, an eminent Balochistan historian and eminent jurist, says that the Nawab of Gachki, the ruler of Kich Makran, a relative of Khan of Kalat, wanted Khan to do some kindness and hand over the agricultural lands of Kachhi area to him. do.

One opinion on why he wanted to do so is that he wanted to increase the revenue of his state. The second opinion is that he was a royal spendthrift and wanted more income for his rising expenses.

It was with this desire that he asserted his right to the turtle lands. But Khan of Kalat Mir Ahmad Yar Khan rejected it.

The Khan of Kalat was of the view that these lands belonged to the tribes, they did not have the authority to give them to anyone else. This was the initial incident that caused a rift between the former British Balochistan and the neighboring states.

A long period of Nawab Bayan's activities began after this tension started between Makran State and Kalat State.

According to historian Dr. Hameed Baloch, these activities can be traced back to a single letter. The letter was sent by Sir Rupert, a Muscat-based political agent, to a British resident stationed in Bahrain. It was revealed in the secret letter that meetings were taking place between Nawab Bayan, the Imam (ruler) of Muscat, a resident of Gwadar, and the British authorities.

The letter stated that Nawab Bayan reached Gwadar from Turbat on October 27, 1947. At that time ships were the popular means of transportation between these nearby coastal places. But Nawab Bayan was not alone in this journey. He was accompanied by a reasonable number of his brothers, sons and other members of the tribe.

Special arrangements were made at the official guest house in Gwadar to accommodate these guests. On the first night, Saeed bin Timur of Muscat hosted a dinner in his honor. This approach of Nawab Bayan was extraordinary.

The Nawab was still enjoying the banquet when a British agent stationed in Gwadar hosted a tea party in his honor.

News of the way Nawab Bayan was handcuffed here caused a stir in the area. The idea became commonplace that there would be great progress in the days to come. After these meetings Nawab Bayan reached Jivani, after which he left for Karachi and stayed there for the next few days. After this tumultuous journey of Nawab Bayan, another journey is mentioned.

Malik Dinar Gachki was the brother of Nawab Bayan. One day he boarded the famous ship SS Barpeta which sailed in these areas and reached Gwadar. Like Nawab Bayan, Malik Dinar also had meetings with important personalities here but his most important meeting was with Hidayatullah. Hidayatullah used to work here as a British agent.

This meeting was important in many ways. Most importantly, it led to many important revelations. The revelations were sensitive and interesting.

It was learned that relations between Nawab Bayan Gachki and Khan of Kalat had deteriorated. The states of Kharan and Lasbela, which belonged to the Balochistan State Union, have now revolted and do not recognize the leadership of Khan of Kalat, the head of the Balochistan State Union. Nawab Kharan, Jam Lasbela, Nawab Bayan's nephews are pressuring Khan of Kalat to sign the accession document with Pakistan. Nawab Bayan Gachki demands that only his right to the money received from Makran be recognized. This income should not be distributed among other chiefs. Nawab Bayan has requested from Muscat that if the Khan of Kalat attacked Makran and the people of Makran had to be displaced in the event of this attack, they would seek refuge in Gwadar (which had not yet come under the control of Pakistan). Give and their needs be met.

In the same meeting, it was also revealed that Nawab Bayan had met the founder of Pakistan in Karachi. The meeting took place on December 3, 1947. The Khan of Kalat had invited Nawab Bayan to attend a special jirga in Dhadar, which the Nawab rejected. He sent a secret letter to the Sultan of Muscat, but the governor of Muscat refused to pay the symbolic tax of Gwadar, which had been paid for centuries.

On the one hand these revelations were happening in Gwadar, on the other hand another scene of this story was going on in Karachi.

Dr. Inayatullah Baloch has written in his book 'The Problem of Greater Balochistan' that these were the days of August 1947 when the government of Pakistan established relations with Nawab Bayan. These contacts began with a meeting with Shey Umar Gachki, son of Nawab Bayan. In the days to come, there will be more contacts.

Nawab Bayan's differences with Khan of Kalat Mir Ahmad Yar Khan had come to the fore but why were the chiefs of Kharan and Lasbela leaning against him?

Dr. Hameed Baloch has written with reference to Mir Gul Khan Naseer's book 'History of Balochistan' that the Khawanis of Lasbela and Kharan had old differences with the Khan of Kalat. These differences preceded Nawab Bayan's claim to Makran's income.

Why was Nawab Bayan Khan of Kalat so strong in his opposition and why was he showing such perseverance? According to Gul Khan Naseer, there were other factors at work behind it. He writes:

The prime minister of Kalat had a hand in provoking them. He was apparently loyal to Khan Kalat but inside he was in alliance with the government of Pakistan.

He further revealed that "the secret request of these chiefs to join Pakistan was also formulated by the Prime Minister of Kalat."

It was against this backdrop that Nawab Bayan's rapprochement with the government of Pakistan began. Dr. Hameed Baloch writes that "Nawab Bayan did not deserve as much importance as he did, nor did he personally have the status to join Pakistan."

Hameed Baloch explains that the reason is that from the time of Naseer Khan I, Makran Khawanin was a subordinate area of ​​Kalat. The area was divided into three local Gachki families, including the Temp, Ketch and Panjgur areas. These areas belonged to the semi-autonomous states of Kalat. The catchment area of ​​Nawab Bayan was one of these three areas. The whole of Makran was not under his rule. That is why they did not have the sole power to decide on Makran's accession. Despite this fact, when he approached for accession, the government of Pakistan recognized him as an independent ruler. It is as if the other states of Makran, namely Temp and Panjgur, were ignored by Pakistan. There was another background to why this happened on the part of Pakistan.

The decision to annex Nawab Bayan was opposed by two other chiefs of Makran. In this regard, a letter of his contemporary Nawab Sardar Buland Khan Gachki is in the records of Balochistan Secretariat. Dr. Hameed Baloch has copied a part of this letter in his book

It is politely submitted that for a long time my forefathers and I, including my tribe, have been loyal to the government of Kalat. Now that the situation is changing, I, my relatives and all the tribes of Kalat make the government believe that whatever the government, Kalat and the Baloch nation (about the future of Kalat) will decide, I will accept it. I strongly condemn Nawab Bayan Gachki's accession to Pakistan, especially since Nawab Bayan does not have the right to claim to be the leader of all Makran except Ketch.

He wrote this letter to the Khan of Kalat on March 27, 1948.

This opposition of the other two states of Makran, the opponent of Nawab Bayan, was swept away in these future events. These were the events that took place after the annexation of Kalat.

Relations between the Khan of Kalat and the Founder of Pakistan have been cordial since the days of Tehreek-e-Azadi but after the formation of Pakistan the situation changed and the cordial relations turned into animosity.

These events began during the formulas that emerged in connection with the Partition of India and the activities of personalities from the United Kingdom and took place shortly before that.

Jawaharlal Nehru's collection of essays, Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, mentions Khan of Kalat's connections with him, according to which Khan wrote a letter to him in 1946. One of the reasons for this connection was that under the British formula, the Congress had rejected the idea of ​​an independent state of Kalat.

Hameed Baloch quotes Gul Khan Naseer as saying that in comparison the founder of Pakistan had not only accepted this idea but also the areas of the state of Kalat which were acquired by the British government on lease from Kalat and were now called British Balochistan. He did not mind returning to Kalat. This situation continued till the declaration of Partition of India on June 3.

This means that cordial relations continued even during the activities for partition of India. Then what happened that changed the situation in the coming days? There are two reasons for this in different narrations.

Dr. Hameed Baloch referred to the letter of the Commonwealth Minister for Relations in this regard. In the letter, the British High Commission in Karachi was told that according to reports, the government of Pakistan intends to recognize the independence of the state of Kalat, it should be stopped. The High Commission expressed its displeasure. The letter stated:

The region of Khan Qalat, which is adjacent to Persia (Iran), is not in a position to fulfill its international obligations. Lord Mountbatten had informed the Government of Pakistan of such dangers before the transfer of power. The British High Commission in Pakistan is informed of the situation and will inform the Government of Pakistan of (our) position in this regard.

What were the risks and international obligations that the Commonwealth thought the state of Kalat was incapable of paying?

Author Hamid Baloch writes that "these interests were related to the Gulf states and to the oil that flows through the region to the west."

The Khan of Kalat declared independence on 15 August 1947. The situation changed after the declaration of independence. There were many reasons why things changed so dramatically.

After the declaration of independence, the Prime Minister of Kalat Nawabzada Muhammad Aslam and the Foreign Minister Douglas Phil went to Karachi to discuss with the Government of Pakistan the return of the territories which had been leased from Kalat to the British Government. On this occasion, the government of Pakistan demanded from this delegation that Kalat should join Pakistan. There was a strong reaction against it in Kalat. The speeches made in the parliament of Kalat in particular were very painful for Pakistan.

At that time, five proposals were under consideration in Kalat.

1- Accession with Iran will pave the way for the establishment of Greater Balochistan in the future.

2- Accession to Afghanistan with which the Baloch rulers had old relations.

3- Join India.

4- Join Pakistan.

5- Remain under the shadow of the British Empire.

The proposals were public, but the British High Commission reported differently. The British High Commissioner based in Karachi wrote to his counterpart in New Delhi that the Khan of Kalat had negotiated accession with India and Afghanistan. This letter was written on March 27, 1948.

Another news item on All India Radio that evening caused a sensation. In the news, VP Memon revealed that the Khan of Kalat had requested the Government of India to approve Kalat's accession to the Indian Union.

The evidence shows that these activities of Khan of Kalat were in the knowledge of the government of Pakistan. This was the reason that in the days when Khan was working on various possibilities, Pakistan made contacts with his opponents and persuaded them to join Pakistan. It was against this backdrop that the states of Makran, Kharan and Lasbela annexed Pakistan, leaving Kalat with no option but to join Pakistan.

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