In a statement issued on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day on November 13, Baloch National Movement Chairman Khalil Baloch said that despite Khan Mehrab Khan’s lack of military equipment and limited resources and limited individual strength, he set an example of bravery and resistance against a powerful enemy by fighting till his last breath to defend the Baloch land.
Chairman Khalil Baloch said that the historic initiative of Khan Mehrab Khan not only breathed new life into the Baloch nation for the protection of the land and struggle for national survival but also convinced other oppressed nations of the world that reconciliation against occupation would extend its lifespan, while resistance is the only way out of occupation.
He added that the nineteenth century was the era of the colonial powers, which began to occupy the Third World countries by force. Britain spread its bloody claws in India, China, African countries. After the occupation of India, the British feared that Russia wanted to enter India through Afghanistan, as result they invaded Balochistan. Khan Mehrab Khan along with his associates resisted this attack and was martyred and remained immortalized in the national history.
Chairman Khalil Baloch said that after the occupation of Balochistan, the British slowed down the evolution of Baloch society through Sandeman’s forward policy and unilateral agreements and through their conspiracies gave birth to various social diseases in Baloch society through hereditary Sardari system, tribal sectarianism. The centuries old set norms of tolerance and progressive thinking of the Baloch society was severely damaged.
He further said that Balochistan was never a part of India but Balochistan was a country consisting of Kalat, Kharan, Makran and Lasbela which was occupied by the British government and cradled in Pakistan, nine months after independence, so that Britain could maintain its kingdom in the region through Pakistan.
The BNM chairman concluded by saying that Khan Mehrab Khan’s resistance struggle and the sacrifices of the martyrs were for the defense of the Baloch homeland which teaches us that nations do not end with genocide and killings but can survive by adhering to the philosophy of sacrifice. This resistance struggle made the Baloch as a living nation in history. It is this resistance struggle that guarantees the success of the Baloch national liberation movement. We have to bear this reality in our mind that the way to national liberation requires patience and it is a demanding process. If we follow the footsteps of our people those who laud their lives for sake of mother land, no power on earth would be able to stop us from reaching our destination of national liberation.
