
Over 30 million Baloch people live around the world today, with a diaspora extending across the Middle East, East Africa, India, Europe, Asia and North America. Regardless of the place they now call home, the Baloch take great pride in their national identity, homeland, language, and culture, and retain spiritual connections to their traditional homeland. Throughout medieval and early modern history, the influence of the Baloch tribes on the political landscape of Balochistan and the surrounding regions was considerable.
Amidst the decline of the Mughal Empire, in the mid 17th century, the various tribes of Balochistan assembled a loose confederation and ousted the Mughal overlords. By 1666, this confederation had evolved into the Khanate of Kalat, and formed the geographic and administrative core of a unified Baloch nation-state. For nearly three centuries, Balochistan enjoyed effective sovereignty and independence.
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