The Rise of Baloch Nationalism and Resistance – III

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The Baloch leaders were incarcerated or exiled from Balochistan to deprive them of the support and also interaction with people they had influence on and those whom they could potentially influence to resist the injustices against the Baloch. They thought by separating the fish (guerrillas) from the water (people), they could stifle the resentment that was now burgeoning.

One such exile was Sher Mohammad Marri (Babu). He was accused of getting arms for the fight against injustice to the Baloch. My father Mir Ali Ahmed Talpur had invited him for lunch at our house in Karachi in 1961. There, among other things, he said he was accused of procuring 500 rifles. He said he could confront the torturers of the Baloch if he had just 50 rifles. Sometime in 1962 he skipped bail that restricted him to Sindh. The bail was provided by a friend of my father. Babu went into the mountains, first near Quetta and then in the Marri area. This too was a watershed moment, a defining moment in the armed struggle history of the Baloch for this was the beginning of organised armed resistance by the people permanently under arms and committed to fighting for their rights.