WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / June 12, 2025 / The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is announcing the launch of the Balochistan Studies Project. Balochistan has a strategic geographical position and is an important economic gateway, with trillions of dollars' worth of underground natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, copper, and coal, rare earth elements, and the two deep seaports of Gawadar and Chabahar. Balochistan is the perfect outpost to counter and keep under control Iran, its nuclear ambitions, and its dangerous relations with Pakistan, which may provide Tehran with tactical nukes.
Baloch leaders, such as Hyrbyair Marri, renowned leader of the secular Free Balochistan Movement, stand against religious radicalization in the region, against the regimes of the Islamic Republics of Pakistan and Iran, and against Chinese hegemonic ambitions. Hence, the international community should understand that Balochistan is a natural ally of the West.
The History Of Balochistan
Well before the unification of modern nation-states like Italy and Germany, Balochistan existed as a unified entity. However, following the British conquest in 1839, the country was systematically partitioned. In 1871, its western part was annexed to Persia (modern-day Iran); in 1893, the northern region was ceded to Afghanistan; and the eastern part was left semi-independent. This division, imposed without the consent of the Baloch people, partitioned the once-unified country and granted its territories to neighboring states. The British dismemberment of Balochistan is comparable to the partitioning of Poland by Germany and Russia during World War II - with the key distinction being that Balochistan was betrayed by its so-called ally, the British Empire.
After the Second World War, Asia was decolonized, and the British Empire withdrew from the region. The eastern parts of Balochistan and India were granted independence, but India was also divided in the name of religion, resulting in the creation of Pakistan. Pakistan was established on Indian and Afghan territory. Alongside India's territory, its military - the British Indian Army, the largest force in human history by 1945 - was also divided. Pakistan was admitted to the United Nations in September 1947. One of Pakistan's first acts as a member of the United Nations was to violate its founding charter by invading Balochistan and annexing it by force. Balochistan existed for centuries as a unified and independent state until it was divided by Britain and then illegally annexed by Pakistan. The Baloch nation has never accepted the illegal division and occupation of Balochistan.
Read the full article: MEMRI Daily Brief No. 660, Renowned Baloch Leader Hyrbyair Marri: The Baloch Are Not A Minority In Iran, But Rather A Nation Under Iranian Occupation; Chinese And Pakistani Policies Are Catastrophic To The Baloch Nation, By Hyrbyair Marri, October 16, 2024
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SOURCE: Middle East Media Research Institute
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/memri-launches-balochistan-studies-project-1038898
