ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the growth of the Baloch national movement from 1977 onwards and argues that while the movement has spread territorially, it has also suffered political and ideological fragmentation, indicating changing dynamics of the movement from within and without. On the one hand, political parties have mushroomed, and on the other, militant groups have also spread far and wide. The ongoing fifth insurgency, which started as a result of the 2006 military operation, is explicitly seeking secession – something that makes this phase fundamentally different from previous militant phases. This phase has also seen deliberate injection of religious fundamentalism in Balochistan to decapitate the movement’s non-violent aspects.
