Baloch nationalists to be included in Pakistani textbooks

The government of Pakistan’s Balochistan province plans to include chapters on Pashtun and Baloch nationalist leaders like Akbar Bugti in school textbooks.

Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik said it had been decided in principle to educate schoolchildren on the history of the political struggle of leaders like Bugti, Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, Khan Shaheed Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai and Mir Yousaf Aziz Magsi.

Bugti, a controversial nationalist leader, was killed in August 2006 in a cave where he had taken refuge during a military crackdown ordered by then President Pervez Musharraf.

He had led an armed campaign for provincial autonomy and a greater share of profits from Balochistan’s abundant natural resources. The death of the Baloch chieftain sparked angry protests in parts of the country.

“We cannot deceive our younger generations. We want our kids to know about their elders who sacrificed their lives for them,” the Chief Minister was quoted as saying by Dawn News.

Balochistan sees frequent outbreaks of violence involving both Islamist militants and separatist rebels. Targeted killings, bomb blasts and kidnapping are rampant in the province.

Provinces in Pakistan were empowered to independently make changes to their educational curricula after the passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment by the parliament.

PTI