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, a ...

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 Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

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 Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

'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 Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

'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 The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

, after winning a seat from Balochistan in the

Pakistani general election, 1970 General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence of Bang ...

. Khair Bakhsh Marri was a leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army (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 Politician, statesman who served as ...

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 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 cap ...

, 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 Nawab Changez (Jangayz) Khan Marri ( ur, ) is the ''Nawab'' of the Marri Baloch people in Balochistan. He has served as Balochistan's Irrigation and Energy Minister since 15 October 2013. Family Changez Khan Marri is the eldest son of the late ...

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 Ghazan Marri ( ur, مير غزن مری) is a politician from Balochistan, Pakistan. Marri is the son of politician Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri. Life Marri's late brother, Balach Marri, was a BLA leader who was declared to be a terrorist by Pakistan ...

Hamza Marri Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri (28 February 1928 – 10 June 2014), bal, نواب خیر بخش مری) was Pakistanis, Pakistani politician from the province of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan in Pakistan. Early life and career Khair Bakhs ...

and

Mehran Marri Mehran Marri ( ur, ) is the sixth son of Pakistani politician Khair Bakhsh Marri and the current leader of United Baloch Army (UBA) which is designated as terrorist organisation by Pakistan. The group is also classified as terrorist organisation ...

. 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