Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri (28 February 1928 – 10 June 2014), bal, نواب خیر بخش مری) was Pakistani

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the province of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in Pakistan.

Early life and career

Khair Bakhsh Marri had received his early education in

Kohlu Kohlu (Urdu and bal, ) is the capital of Kohlu District in Pakistan's Balochistan province.In· May 1892 a sub-tahsil was established at Kohlu, the income being treated as a part of the Zhob Zhob (; ) or Zhobak (), formerly known as Appozai ...

and higher education from Aitchison College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. Nawab Marri admitted himself in a 2008 interview that he was a 'latecomer' into politics due to the comfortable life he spent at Aitcheson College, Lahore and that he was indifferent to politics in his youth. Only when oil and gas exploration started in the Marri tribal areas during General Ayub Khan's regime in Pakistan, his tribal nationalist feelings and political consciousness were aroused.

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

's longstanding view was that these Baloch tribal chiefs are 'anti-development' in their tribal areas and want to cling onto their own traditionally-held power over their people. The tribal chiefs do not want their people to get modern education due to their fear that then the Balochi people would rebel against their own tribal chiefs. Khair Bakhsh Marri became a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, after winning a seat from Balochistan in the Pakistani general election, 1970. Khair Bakhsh Marri was a leader of the

Balochistan Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army ( bal, بلۏچستان آجوییء لشکر; abbreviated BLA), also known as the Baloch Liberation Army, is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in Afghanistan. The BLA's first recorded acti ...

(BLA), a separatist organization which was banned by the Government of Pakistan. He also was a key leader of the 1970s insurgency against the Pakistani government. Due to the steps taken by the federal government to suppress the rebellion by

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

regime in the 1970s, Khair Bakhsh Marri spent many years in exile in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and only returned to Pakistan when the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

-backed government of

Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیب‌الله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...

supporting him in that country, had fallen in the early 1990s. After returning to Pakistan from his exile, he decided to keep a low profile, but his Baloch nationalist views earned him a label of a 'communist nationalist'.

Death and legacy

Khair Bakhsh Marri died on 10 June 2014 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan at age 86. He was admitted to

Liaquat National Hospital The Liaquat National Hospital is located at Stadium Road, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. History Soon after Independence the Red Cross Fete Committee, which was chaired by Syed Wajid Ali, raised about PKR 800,000 through meena bazaars organized un ...

, Karachi in a critical condition on 6 June 2014 and had been under treatment there. Khair Bakhsh Marri had six sons —

Balach Marri Balach Marri ( ur, مير بالاچ مری) was the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a terrorist organisation fighting to separate the Balochistan province from Pakistan. The BLA Listed as a Terrorist organization by Pakistan, UK ...

, Changez Marri,

Hyrbyair Marri Hyrbyair Marri ( bal, ) (born 1968) is a Pakistani activist from the province of Balochistan. He is the fifth son of the Baloch nationalist leader Khair Bakhsh Marri. As of 2017, he resides in London, England. Early life Hyrbyair was born i ...

, Ghazan Marri, Hamza Marri and Mehran Marri. Khair Bakhsh Marri was also head of the Marri tribe.

References

External links

Exclusive Interview of Brahmdagh Bugti - Some Baloch support sardari system, others democracy
by Qurat ul ain Siddiqui, Dawn (newspaper)

Rediff.com website, 23 June 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Marri, Khair Bakhsh 1928 births 2014 deaths Tumandars Nawabs of Balochistan, Pakistan Baloch people Aitchison College alumni Pakistani Marxists Khair Bakhsh Nawabs of Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1972–1977

Early life and career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links