EXPLOITATION OF STRATEGICALLY PIVOTAL GEOGRAPHIES FOR CONSOLIDATION OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION IN BALOCHISTAN

Abstract

Balochistan, the province of Pakistan has always been given attention in international politics due to its geo-strategic significance. Similarly, the British administration had developed immense interests in the province. They wanted to develop it as a buffer zone in the extreme north-western frontier regions of India to protect the perceived Russian threat to the British Empire. They wanted to safeguard a passage for military engagements to Afghanistan through Balochistan. Their administrative efforts under Robert Sandeman Canning’s policies to establish Khanate of Kalat as a buffer state was followed by stiff Baloch resistance. This paper focusses on the British administration’s development of the region that was carried out under the treaty of 1841 followed by severe defeat in the First Anglo-Afghan war. The status of Balochistan was recognized in the treaty of 1854 followed by a strategy of “Closed Border” till 1872, then it was replaced by the “Forward Policy”.