1973-1977, 2002-2005: Baloch Baluchistan Insurgency against central government which

was forcefully crushed by PPP Government major reasons of revived movement are denial of
adequate representation in the government, Political Migration, issue of royalty of natural
resources, Target killing.
1973, 74-77, 2009-2010: Pashtun Hindko KPK* Counteraction to dismissal of elected
government and against intervention in Provincial matters. Hazara Sooba Movement on the
basis of Hindko dialect.
1980-1985, 2003: Mohajir Urban Sindh against the Central authorities lack of representation in
bureaucracy and Army against quota system, loss of identity, killings in Karachi.
1960-70, 1988-2009: Saraiki Southern Punjab to gain language rights against Punjabi
dominance and creation of Separate Province, Siraikistan.

In 2005, the government forcefully crushed the Baloch insurgency in Kohlu District
(third operation against Baloch nationalists) the Balochi nationalist fervour regain its
strength.
Mohajirs raised their voice against the discriminatory policies of PPP Government in
1973-77. In 1980s, they captured the attention on national scene while representing the
lower middle class. Military operations against Mohajir activist in 1992. It remained the
Part of various coalitions on national and provincial levels.
Khyber Pakhtun Khoa (KPK) is the new name of North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

1995 alone, more than 1700 persons, including more than 200 law enforcement personnel, were
killed in its major city, Karachi.1 A militant ethnic party in Sindh is in violent confrontation with
the Government and other ethnic groups. Ethnic polarization in the province of Sindh is almost
complete, and in Balochistan it has shattered the traditional fraternity between ethnic groups.
Violence and insecurity related to ethnic conflicts have seriously disrupted economic activities in
urban Sindh where there has been evidence of flight of capital to other regions and shyness on
the part of foreign capital to invest, besides billions of rupees lost each year due to recurrent
strikes.
Sovereignty: Provincial rights, regional autonomy, and self-determination are the forms in which
the elites of the dominated ethnic groups have raised grievances against the domination by the
ruling class of Punjab. Demands for complete independence, confederation with only residual
powers for the centre, greater autonomy within the federal structure, creation of new provinces
for the groups not having their own province, and altering the provincial boundaries to create
ethnically more homogenous provinces have been voiced from time to time. Lately, the demand
for holding local elections and giving more power to local governments, especially in urban
Sindh, has been added to the arsenal of ethnic demands.
2. Allocation of resources: This is perhaps the most important arena for struggle between
provinces and between ethnic groups. The resources for which the contending parties struggle,
include financial resources for development and recurrent expenditures, share of irrigation water,
Government jobs (the quota system), opportunities for professional and higher education

(location of institutions and admission policies, allotment of agricultural lands in Sindh and
Balochistan to military officers and civil bureaucrats.
3. Inter-province migration: There is great resentment in Sindh and some in Balochistan against
the in-migration from Punjab and NWFP and immigration from other countries. In 1981, the
census calculated a net migration-to-total population ratio of 9.6 percent for Sindh.3 Migration of
such magnitude tends to put pressure on their limited resources and change the demographic
balance.
4. Language and culture: demands for the protection and promotion of the languages and cultures
of ethnic groups against the domination of Urdu and neglect of regional cultural heritage are a
constant feature in the struggle of ethnic groups for their identity assertion. Cultural symbols
serve as instruments of forging group cohesion and legitimating group demands.
In Pakistan, the ethnic movements have been of differing varieties, and have shifted from
seeking advantage within the state to moving beyond into the realm of ethno-nationalism, rather
than reverting to the former position. While these shifts have been correlated primarily to internal
political developments (for example, in the case of the Sindhu Desh movement), in some cases,
external developments have had a major influence also (as in the case of the Greater
Balochistan and Pushtunistan movements). The 2002 elections showed a trend that had begun
in the last elections (February 1997), that ethnic parties have lost ground to national political
parties.
The roots of these problems lie in Pakistans failure to acknowledge and accommodate its ethnic
diversity, economic disparities and provisional autonomy.
The NWFP (renamed Khyber Pukhtunkhaw under the 18 th Amendment to the 1973 constitution)
comprises the North West region of the Western wing. The most dominant community in the area
is the Pathan community, that reflects the features of ethnic tribal society. They are free-spirited
people and are deeply conscious of ethnic and cultural unity. Provincial autonomy has been the
major demand of NWFP. The forced action of the One Unit intensified the sense of their distinct
identity.
Baluchistan consists of tribal areas and the states of Makran, Kharan, Lasbela and Kalat. At
Independence, it had the richest linguistic and cultural heritage. It is a tribal society, dominated
by Sardars. It was the least developed area of the Western part of Pakistan. The basic profession
of the Baluch community is agriculture. The region lacks adequate infrastructure.
Sindh remained a part of Bombay Presidency till 1935. It became a separate province in 1936
under the Government Act of India 1935. After Partition in 1947, Sindh became a part of
Pakistan. Sindhi people have also been very conscious of their cultural and linguistic identity.
Feudalism is very strong in Sindh and is an important feature of Sindhi political and economic
landscape. After Partition, the influx of large number of refugees (Mohajirs) changed the socioethnic fabric of the Sindhi society
Punjab is the most populous province of the Western part of the country. At Partition, Punjab was
a relatively developed province in terms of its education system, skilled manpower, agriculture,

means of communication etc. The civil-military bureaucracy was also dominated by a Punjabi
majority which controlled the decision making processes. According to the 1951 census,
Punjabis had eighty percent representation in the army and fifty-five percent in the bureaucracy.
This created a sense of marginalization among all other provinces, which was further increased
through the policies of successive governments. Punjab, due to its huge size and population, had
always been a dominating factor in Pakistani politics
During British rule there were basically three forces in Baluchistan, the locally influential tribal
Sardars(they wanted to retain their Sardary system), the Baluch nationalists (they wanted to
establish an independent Baluch State) and Khan of Kalat who wanted to hegemonies the rest of
the two. Under the 3rd June plan 1947, an electoral college was formed in British Baluchistan
Majority of Sardars led by Mohammad Khan Jogezai along with the nonofficial members of the
Quetta Municipal Committee voted for The Issue of Ethnicity in Pakistan: Historical Background
Pakistan. The princely states were not included in this referendum because the Khan of Kalat
wanted a sovereign state of Kalat including the northern areas of Baluchistan which were
formerly leased to the British.
The Quaid-e-Azam continued to persuade the Khan to annex his state to Pakistan. However, he
opposed the merger of Kalat with Pakistan. Meantime the 1948 war between Pakistan and India
broke out. Pakistan army invaded Kalat. On 27th March 1948, the Pakistan government
forcefully announced the accession of Kharan and Lesbala. The Makran (part of Kalat) was
separated and annexed to Pakistan. These steps taken by the Pakistani government caused
resentment among the Baluch people. The government of Pakistan assumed power in the whole
of Baluchistan including Kalat State on 15th April 1948. in 1952 the Pakistani government
established the union of Baluch States comprising the State of Kalat, Kharan, Lasbela and
Makran as a single unit. The structural changes were opposed by the Baluch nationalists because
it had affected their numerical strength.
Ethnically it is pluralistic. The main ethnic groups are the Baluch, the Brahvis and Pathans. A
number of tribes (e.g. Mengals, Maris, Bugtis, Zehris, and Bazenjos) resided in the province.
Baluchistan had the highest rate of illiteracy in Pakistan. The situation was the same in the 1981
census. Even the first university in Baluchistan was set up in 1970s. The per capita income in
1976 was the lowest among all provinces. The biggest asset of the province is the deposits of
natural resources. The province has been denied its due share of natural gas royalty. The issue
has been a major cause of resentment against the centre among the Baluch. The Baluch people do
not have their due share in the political system, and wanted to change the power structure in
order to ensure the fair distribution of resources.
On 14th February 1973 Bhutto dissolved the provincial government in Baluchistan. It caused
resentment in the Baluch people and the ethnic agitation in this context intensified. Bhuttos
dismissal of the NAP government led to violent protests from Baluchistan Students Organization
(BSO) and Baluch Peoples Liberation Front (BPLF). The members of BSO and BPLF were
mostly young Baluch.

The creation of Pakistan was opposed by the Pukhtun nationalists led by Ghaffar Khan. They
opposed and criticized the incorporation of NWFP into Pakistan in 1947. They complained that
they were not given a right to vote for Afghanistan. The One-Unit scheme (On 30th September
1955 the second constituent assembly passed a bill to unify all four provinces of West Pakistan
into One-Unit. The Prime Minister Muhammad Ali first announced it on 22nd November) further
accentuated sense of deprivation as they felt that they were made subject to the Punjabi
domination by depriving them of their distinct identity under the One Unit.