Balach Marri ( ur, مير بالاچ مری) was the 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 terrorist organisation fighting to separate the

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. ...

province from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The BLA Listed as a Terrorist organization by Pakistan, UK and America,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Personal life

Marri was one of six sons of Balochistan politician Khair Bakhsh Marri. Marri's brothers are

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, Mehran Marri, and Changez Marri.

Leader of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)

Balach Marri was one of the major leader of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). After his death, a division was created in BLA. Since

was arrested in

, Mehran Marri took control of BLA. Mehran was accused of running the affairs of BLA in mismanaged manner. The rift between Mehran Marri and Hyrbyair Marri led to the creation of

United Baloch Army United Baloch Army (UBA; ) was a militant group, fighting for the separation of Balochistan. The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Pakistani government. The government of Pakistan banned the group on 15 March 2013. The g ...

(UBA). BLA leadership has accused Mehran and his companions of stealing $3 million funds and $800 million worth of weapons from BLA, with which they launched UBA. United Baloch Army is a break away faction of Baloch Liberation Army and is currently run by Mehran Marri. Moreover, after Balach Marri's death BLA was greatly weakened in North-Eastern and Central part of Balochistan.

Murder of Akbar Bugti

The Chairman of the Baloch Youth Council (London), Waja Mir Hazar Khan Baloch, stated that Balach Marri was behind the murder of

Akbar Bugti Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti ( Balochi, Urdu: ; 12 July 1927 – 26 August 2006) was a Pakistani politician and the Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe of Baloch people who served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Baloc ...

. He stated that Brahamdagh Bugti told him that the cave in which Akbar Bugti was hiding in, came down due to blast by remote control and Balach Marri was standing just outside the cave at that time. Moreover, Baloch Youth Council (London) stated that an Indian diplomat had organised a meeting between Harbiyar Marri and Brahamdagh Bugti to resolve misunderstanding among them. The council claimed that Indian intelligence wing

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

was also present in the meeting between the two leaders. Indian intelligence officials and diplomats tried to persuade them to resolve difference among themselves. Harbiyar Marri wanted full independence and form government-in-exile. While Brahamdagh Bugti rejected Harbiyar's plan and claimed that he was the international leader.

Death

Balach Marri was killed 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 ...

on 21 November 2007. According to some sources, Marri was killed in a

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) airstrike in Afghanistan. NATO officials had mistook him and his men for

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

fighters and conducted airstrike on them, resulting in Marri's death. However,

Abdul Qadeer Baloch Abdul Qadeer Baloch ( ur, ), better known as Mama Qadeer ( ur, ) is a human rights activist from the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Life In 2013, Qadeer traveled more than 2,000 kilometers from Balochistan to Islamabad along with other Baloch ...

also known as Mama Qadeer, said that Khair Bakhsh Marri believed that

was behind the killing of Balach Marri. He made these remarks while reading out the last message of Khair Bakhsh Marri. In the message, Khair Bakhsh Marri questioned the circumstances surrounding the death of Balach Marri. In the written message, Khair Bakhsh Marri claimed that Hyrbyair Marri was the one who assassinated Balach Marri.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marri, Balach 1966 births 2007 deaths Baloch nationalists Baloch politicians Pakistani politicians Pakistani expatriates in Russia Balach