How to Make Proxy War Succeed in

Baluchistan
ByDr Amarjit Singh
IssueNet Edition| Date : 20 Dec , 2014
The Principle of Requisites Applied to Pakistans Proxy Wars in India
Coming now to India, it is seen that Nagaland is still a part of India inspite of the fact that the numerical size of rebels was tangible; they
received small arms from outside sources (read: China and Pakistan). But they underestimated the resolve of successive Indian
governments, and there was no external enemy action against Nagaland. Hence requisite 1 existed; requisite 2 was present to a
considerable extent, but not to the fullest extent; and requisites 3 and 4 were absent; the result: proxy wars waged by Pakistan and China
in Nagaland have been unsuccessful in severing Nagaland from the Indian union.

the uprisings, revolts, and rebellions continue in Baluchistan today. MI6

and CIA are interested in carving the country of Baluchistan, in which they
find themselves as strange bedfellows with Iran, with the same end interest,
but for a different reason.
Extend this principle to J&K. Pakistan has tried repeatedly since 1947 to severe J&K from India. Pakistan has provided small arms, sent
its own military personnel to infiltrate Kashmir to create turmoil, has grown a rebel mujahidin army with the help of other terrorist outfits,
and has succeeded in destroying the economic base of Kashmir, but has failed to severe Kashmir from India. Indias resolve to hang on
to J&K is steadfast, resolute, and non-negotiable. In addition, India has sent in up to 500,000 troops at one time to control Kashmir.
Moreover, any military action that Pakistan initiates across the Line of Control (LOC) is not sufficient to overpower Indian forces. Hence,
whereas requisites 1 and 2 are present in Kashmir, requisites 3 and 4 are not present in adequate proportions.
The situation with the Maoists has not reached extreme proportions yet. Perhaps when India has to fight on two-and-a-half fronts, this
dimension may pose a problem, but for the present, the Maoist situation, by itself, is missing requisites 3 and 4; requisite 1 is very, very
strongly in its favor, and requisite 2 is also existent because the Maoists are known to receive small arms with Chinese markings, unless
the allegation is propaganda by Indian counter-intelligence. Hence, the Maoists can fret and fume from event after event, but they will be
unable to secure major advantages till requisites 3 and 4 fall into place, which is why the Maoist problem is still somewhat contained.
Proxy Wars in Pakistan: Baluch Focus
Now, move to Baluchistan, which is the main site of Indias proclaimed proxy war in Pakistan. The British and Americans also have
strong interest in creating an independent Baluchistan, not to mention Irans interest because Baluchistan is predominantly Shia, like
Iran. British Prime Minister Tony Blair apparently put the idea into Americas ear that having an independent Baluchistan would solve
Americas overland route problem into Afghanistan. The British SIS (or MI6) consequently initiated clandestine action with the CIA post
10/11 to foment rebellion in Baluchistan, once American troops displaced the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. Hence requisite 2 went
into action. The numerical size of the rebels was relatively small when the Western powers started, but that got built to some 4-6,000
rebels, about the size of two brigades, and enough to cause turmoil, blow up army depots, harass military convoys, and launch surprise
attacks at military bases. Seeing an upswing in Baluch rebellion in 2004, Musharraf sent in one division and two brigades to quash the
rebellion. Soon, the octogenarian leader of Baluchistan, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Oxford-educated, and a former Governor of Baluchistan,
was assassinated by Musharraf in 2006, who claimed it a victory for the Pakistani people 1. In 2007, the Pakistani army resorted to
indiscriminate civilian attacks in the regions of Kahan and Dera Bugti; over 200 houses were razed, and more than 100 civilians, women
and children killed. In addition, Pakistani forces poured into more than a dozen cities to suppress pro-independence protests; the army
further used helicopter gunships and carpet bombed entire villages in Kahan, Taratani and Kamalan Kech areas. Dozens of Baluch were
shot dead in cold blood by executing squads, 400 were arrested, another 500 were kidnapped. The human rights violations were
appalling.2

Indian covert action in Baluchistan is fair tit-for-tat for Pakistani proxy wars in
India. India should not be left wanting in its own security concerns.

In 2012, nearly 1,000 people were officially known killed in Baluchistan, 3 in a province of only 8 million people, even though it occupies
44% of the land area of Pakistan. The daughter and grand-daughter of Bugti were slaughtered in their car in the streets of Karachi, to
send a gruesome message to Bugtis grandson, Brahmadagh, the leader of the Baluch Republican Party. 4 It appears that the rebellion is
weighted in the opposite direction to what intended: rebel groups and sympathizers are being slaughtered by home security forces rather
than the other way around. Nevertheless, after Musharrafs departure to England, an FIR was issued against him for the murder of
Akbar Bugti. Musharraf will still have to face the music after he returns on March 24, 2013 to Pakistan.
Thus, the uprisings, revolts, and rebellions continue in Baluchistan today. MI6 and CIA are interested in carving the country of
Baluchistan, in which they find themselves as strange bedfellows with Iran, with the same end interest, but for a different reason. For
Iran, its a question of creating a larger Shia conglomerate; for the Americans and British it is to have an overland route to Afghanistan,
as well as have a physical base from where to monitor Pakistani nuclear movements; for India, it is simply a matter to break-up and
weaken an arch enemy. India is assumed to provide assistance to the Baluch, an action that India need not be ashamed of, though
Pakistan tried to shame India in this matter in the famous 2009 joint statement between Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh. 5
Creating a proxy war in Baluchistan to severe it from Pakistan is in the direct interest of India. First, the mineral-rich province will then no
longer provide resources and riches to Pakistan, an event that will directly deplete Pakistani military expenditure. While Baluchistan is
easily Pakistans richest province, its people are its poorest, mainly because Pakistan has exploited Baluchistan like a colony. The
human rights excesses by Pakistan in Baluchistan are enough of a moral reason to assist and aid the Baluch in segregating from
Pakistan. But more than that, Pakistan has been enough of an enemy of India to attract Indias legitimate and moral wrath. Finally,
Indian covert action in Baluchistan is fair tit-for-tat for Pakistani proxy wars in India. India should not be left wanting in its own security
concerns. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is fair policy. But India needs to brook no nonsense, and like every other country in
its place, has the moral right to react disproportionately: Two eyes for one; and the whole jaw for a tooth!
Brief History of Baluchistan
Baluchistan consists of a western province in Iran, a northern province in Afghanistan, and a central province in Pakistan. They speak a
dialect distantly related to the Kurdish people. Ironically, the Baluch are deprived of a nation just like the Kurds, who are also divided
across three countries. In the 19th century, the Persians and British agreed to divide Baluchistan into a Persian sector, an Afghan
province, and an independent central state that served as a vassal state to Great Britain, 6 much like Kashmir. These vassal states
protected Great Britain from invasions from the West and North, especially considering that they entered into a separate agreement with
Russia to keep Afghanistan as a virtual no-mans land. Thus, Britains borders to the north and west against the major empires of the
time Russia, Persia, and a potential China were secure. Tibet was an added buffer against both Russian and Chinese invasions,
remembering that Chengiz Khan had come into North India through Tibet and Afghanistan, while Russia had expanded southwards into
Central Asia during the major part of the early 19th century.
At Indian independence in 1947, Baluchistan, like Kashmir, was kept out of the India-Pakistan equation, and both Kashmir and
Baluchistan were left as independent, sovereign states by Britain, with Britain actually recognizing Baluchistan as a sovereign state. But,
on March 26, 1948, 300 years of Baluch autonomy came to a striking end when the Pakistani army walked in, much like India walked
into Hyderabad. That India recognized Pakistani occupation of Baluchistan was probably in reciprocity to Pakistani recognition of Indias
occupation of Hyderabad.

The total rebel strength is still not estimated at more than 5,000 armed
fighters perhaps as low as 2,000. This number is much too small to
sustain an effective armed uprising.
Arab nationalists in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt began to support Baluch independence in the 1950s. Iraq renewed its support of Iranian
Baloch during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. Very logically, Russia supported Pakistani Baluch during their occupation of Afghanistan,
1979-1989. Ahmad Akbar Bugti rose to prominence in the 1990s, galvanized Baluch resistance, but was squarely eliminated by
Musharraf in the 2000s. Harsh repressions against Baluch nationals, presumed rebels, and sympathizers continues today by Pakistani
security forces, thereby further alienating the sentiments of the Baluch people. But the Baluch people simply are a small population and
suffer from inadequate external assistance to carve their independence. This, in a nutshell, is the Baluch history. In all this, it must not
be forgotten that the Baluch are an independent group of people who have had their own country in the past; they are a sovereign
people who want to see an end to Punjabi exploitation from Islamabad, and now rightfully seek their own free nation.

Implementation of the Baluch Proxy War

So, inasmuch as India needs to foment Baluch rebellion, lets apply the four principle requisites to the problem. First, there are an
insufficient number of Baluch rebels available who will fight for independence. The total rebel strength is still not estimated at more than
5,000 armed fighters perhaps as low as 2,000. This number is much too small to sustain an effective armed uprising. In contrast, the
Free Syrian Army has a maximum of 50,000 fighters, 7 including deserters from the Syrian Army, but is still in a tough face-off with the
Syrian Army, which is much smaller and less professional than the Pakistani army.
In comparison, the Pakistani army is 450,000 strong, and so Pakistan can very easily suppress any armed rebellion by 2,000 Baluch
rebels. That the people of Baluchistan may suffer in the process or that the province may become poorer is not of concern to Pakistani
Punjabis. All that the Pakistani Punjabis want are the minerals and resources of Baluchistan, the rest being damned. Hence, an armed
rebellion in Baluchistan may not be more than a bee sting for Pakistan that Pakistan can easily shrug and forget.

Pakistani resolve to retain Baluchistan is firm. Pakistans ISI and military is

pro-active in weeding possible Baluch rebels, often kidnapping innocent men
and women in the process.
Thus we see that requisite 1 is difficult to fulfill, notwithstanding British, American, Iranian, and Indian wishes in the matter. Requisite 2 is
hard to come by, because effective weaponry is not being given yet, in spite of what people may believe. The Western powers are
forever wary that their assistance may fall into the wrong hands. Indias hardware assistance is miniscule. Russian assistance stopped
in 1989, even though the Russians first raised the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA). But, with RAW and RAD (Russian Intelligence) help,
America trained some 30 Baluch fighters in 2002 that RAW helped select. 8 But anyone can understand that 30 fighters is a pitiable joke
for a huge province! Other reports claim that numerous training camps have come up across Pakistan, 9 but how many fighters do they
produce? Thirty per camp in ten camps? This is still an extremely small number to stir a rebellion. The numbers of camps that have
been discovered and destroyed by Pakistani forces are also significant, so Indias results are certainly not 100%, but closer to 50%, in all
likelihood. Thus, the proxy war situation is even more pathetic than expected. The deaths and assaults reported for Baluchistan are of
Baluch by Taliban and Pakistani security forces rather than the other way around. Baluch rebel assaults on Pakistani military forces are
all but non-existent. If the rebellion were meaningful and strong, more Pakistani military casualties would be registered. Foreign weapon
assistance, including from India, is minimal. 10 The assistance from America and Britain has slid to lip-service and hearings at the US
Congress. The action on the ground is far from meaningful. The rhetoric, as usual, especially in Indian security analysis circles is hyped
up. They catch a mouse and claim to have caught a tiger! This is typical Indian personality, characterized by some degree of inferiority.
The truth is that the Baluch proxy war is close to dreaming of action but having none of it; impotence is a better way to characterize it.
India knows how to count its chickens, but not hatch them.
On the other hand, Pakistani resolve to retain Baluchistan is firm. Pakistans ISI and military is pro-active in weeding possible Baluch
rebels, often kidnapping innocent men and women in the process. In the period from 2003-2012 it is estimated that 8,000 people were
kidnapped by Pakistani security forces in the province. In 2008 alone an estimated 1,102 Baluch people disappeared. There have also
been [widespread] reports of torture.11 These reports widely resemble Indian army actions in Nagaland in the 1960s and Punjab in the
1980s, and even now both those provinces are firmly in Indian territory. Pakistan has systematically eliminated members of the BLA and
other would-be rebels, even though General Kakar, former Chief of Army of Staff of Pakistan, called Musharrafs actions in killing Bugti a
mistake.12 The will of the Pakistani political and military machinery to squash Baluch rebellion is strong; this thereby indicates that
requisite 3 is not adequate for a rebellion to succeed.
Thus, requisites 1, 2, and 3 are wanting. However, it is possible to tilt these by using requisite 4 in such a way that it overcomes all other
requisites. Thus, by the Indian army opening its guns all along the 1,850 mile Indo-Pak border, and stepping up weapon supplies to the
Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), much as it did to the Mukti Bahini, India can hope to tie down Pakistani forces on its Eastern front, while
military installations in Baluchistan can be torched by rebels, and bombarded by Indian naval gunships and missile ships. Much as India
loaned its Bengali officers and soldiers to the Mukti Bahini in 1971, it may have to do something similar with the BLA, albeit in a different
shape. Again, Indian Special Forces and Marcos can be a great asset here, though the Indian establishment can brainstorm other
options. Cooperation with Iran in this respect must not be ruled out, but must be negotiated. USA and Britain must be more closely
consulted. For instance, Iran could press troops on the Baluchistan border, or US troops could come down into Quetta in Baluchistan
from Kandahar, even if these are distant dreams, because the USA is simply scared to send troops into Pakistan for various military,

economic, and political reasons. Nevertheless, without external military intervention it is difficult to see how Pakistan will relinquish
control over a huge, mineral-rich province.

Eventually, the paltry Indian assistance to the Baluch Liberation Army must
increase by gargantuan amounts for the liberation action to succeed.
The execution of the proxy war will also require allocation of a special status by the Indian cabinet and a large budget to go with it.
Hence, requisites 1, 2, and 4 can be ramped up and the will of resistance that is in requisite 3 can be gradually broken by the measures
mentioned. This is how the proxy war can succeed; else its success is only in the imagination of dreamers, because even a weak and
fatigued Pakistan will not relinquish its hold on Baluchistan.
Conclusion
Four requisites for the success of a proxy war were outlined, and examples given from world situations. In conclusion, it sounds unlikely
that a proxy war as currently being waged by India or the Western powers in Baluchistan can severe Baluchistan from Pakistan, even
though they need it for their strategic interests. The four requisites to make this happen in Baluchistan simply dont seem to exist, and
Pakistans will to retain Baluchistan is strong. However, the deficiency in requisites can be overcome if India ties down Pakistani forces
along the Indo-Pak border after opening its guns in fire along the entire 1,850 mile border. This must be supplemented by loaning
Special Forces soldiers and officers to the Baluch National Army to damage and destroy Pakistani installations in Baluchistan.
Eventually, the paltry Indian assistance to the Baluch Liberation Army must increase by gargantuan amounts for the liberation action to
succeed. In the end, a freedom fight and proxy war in Baluchistan is morally justified for the human rights abuses and excesses by
Islamabad in Baluchistan. It is undeniable that a successful proxy war in Baluchistan is in Indias strategic interest. This proxy war can
be fought as overtly as covertly because India has been at war with Pakistan for 65 years.
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