1948: Abdul Karim's reign

When the Pakistan Army invaded Kalat in 1948, they arrested the Khan (the ruler of Kalat). His brother, Prince Abdul Karim declared a revolt.

Balochistan was taken over by the British on October 1, 1887. In 1948, it became part of Pakistan.

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Since then, separatist groups in the province have engaged in limited but armed tribal uprisings, first led by Prince Abdul Karim, and later by Nawab Nowroz Khan.

A more serious insurgency was led by the Marri and Mengal tribes from 1973-1977.

These tribes hoped for a "Greater Balochistan" - a single independent state ruled under tribal Jirgas, a tribal system of government.

1948

• When the Pakistan Army invaded Kalat on April 1, 1948, they arrested the Khan (the ruler of Kalat).

His brother, Prince Abdul Karim declared a revolt. In the name of the Baloch National Liberation Committee, he rejected the accession and declared independence.

• Karim looked for Afghan support since Afghanistan had objected to Baloch and Pashtun areas being made part of Pakistan, and had opposed the admission of Pakistan to the UN.

• But Afghan support did not come, perhaps because the government in Kabul wanted to make Balochistan a part of Afghanistan.

But the Khan, threatened with reprisals, persuaded him to surrender - on assurances of safe passage and amnesty from the Pakistan army.

Officers reportedly swore an oath on the Quran to uphold the assurances. They nonetheless arrested the Prince and 102 of his men on their way to Kalat.

• This led to widespread belief that Pakistan betrayed the Baloch, and nationalists regard this as the first in a series of broken promises that created distrust between them and Islamabad.

Karim and his followers were sentenced to long prison terms, and they became rallying symbols for the Baloch liberation movement.