The Asian Human Rights Commission in its report, ‘Balochistan: Unearthing Dead Bodies in the Thousands’, mentions that the region continues to suffer the wrath of law enforcement agencies. Going by official figures, corpses found in the past six years are threatening to breach the 1,000-mark with the real numbers being greater. Many are unrecognisable, with faces being burnt by acid, a tactic used by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. The official data states that 112 people are still missing in the province. The figure is obviously a tip of the iceberg. Provincial Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani on December 28, 2015, said over 9,000 suspected militants and criminals have been arrested in Balochistan as a part of the National Action Plan in 2015. He claimed that as many as 1,973 intelligence-based operations have been conducted in the province, to arrest elements involved in targeted killings, bomb explosions, and kidnappings.
August 4, 1947: Lord Mountbatten, the Governor-General of India, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Governor-General-designate of Pakistan, and the Khan of Kalat sign a tripartite agreement, saying on Pakistan becoming a dominion, Balochistan will get back its 1876 status.
March 27, 1948: Under pressure from Jinnah, Khan signs the Instrument of Accession and with it Baloch state of Kalat annexes to Pakistan. The state is now divided between Pakistan and Iran.
April 1948 : Pakistan military invades the territory. Khan’s younger brothers refuse to lay down arms, leading the Dosht-e-Jhalawan in unconventional attacks on the army until 1950.
1958-59: Nawab Nauroz Khan takes up arms against the One Unit policy proposal, which decreases government representation for tribal leaders.
1960: Baloch separatist movement gains momentum following the introduction of a new constitution which limits provincial autonomy and enacts the ‘One Unit’ concept of political organisation in Pakistan.
1969: Insurgency ends with the Baloch separatists agreeing to a ceasefire.
1963-69: Sher Muhammad Bijrani Marri leads like-minded militants into guerrilla warfare by creating insurgent bases and seeking share in revenue generated from the Sui gas fields. Insurgents bomb railway tracks and army retaliates.
1970: Pakistani President Yahya Khan abolishes the One Unit policy, leading to the recognition of Balochistan as the fourth province of West Pakistan.
1973: Citing treason, President Bhutto dismisses the provincial governments of Balochistan and NWFP, and imposes martial law.
1973: Khair Bakhsh Marri forms the Balochistan People’s Liberation Front and drives the tribesmen into guerrilla warfare against the Centre.
Early 2000s: Radical Islamist group Jundallah becomes active in Balochistan.
2003-2012: The Pakistani security forces in Balochistan abduct around 8,000 people.
December 2005: Pakistani interior minister Aftab Sherpao says an estimated 4,000 people from Balochistan are in the custody of the authorities.
2008: More than 1,100 Baloch people disappear.
2011: According to international media and human rights groups’ reports, more than 100 bodies are found dumped in the province, many bearing the signs of torture.