Secession: Balochistan

Balochistan stretches of the international borders between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Balochis in all regions have attempted to form an independent Balochi state.

The Pakistani military did a major crackdown in 1974, perhaps as many as 5,000 Balochi militants were killed.

As soon as the region in Pakistan joined that country, acceeding in 1948, the brother of the former Khan and other Balochi notables set up a revolutionary group in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Lacking support from either Afghanistan or the Soviet Union, it did not accomplish much before its leaders were arrested.

It almost appears as if the British, who drew the lines over a century ago, were trying to carve up Balochi speaking people. The main line between Pakistan and Afghanistan was based on the Durand Line. The Durand Line represents the furthest that British forces could push into Afghanistan during the 1800s as they tried to ensure protection for Pakistan (then British India) from Russia (then on the other side of Afghanistan).