The Baluchistan States Union or Balochistan States Union (BSU) was an administrative division of Pakistan that existed between 3 October 1952 and 14 October 1955 in the southwestern part of

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

. It was formed by the four

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a ...

of Kalat, Kharan, Las Bela and

Makran Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, f ...

with the capital at the town of Kalat. The area of the Union was roughly the south-western half of the modern 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 ...

. The Union was separate from the Chief Commissioners Province of Baluchistan which comprised areas to the northeast of the Union. The Union did not include the

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Gwadar Gwadar ( Balochi/ ur, ) is a port city with located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to the 2017 ...

which was part of the

Muscat and Oman The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ( ar, سلطنة مسقط وعمان, Salṭanat Masqaṭ wa-‘Umān), also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman () during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the pres ...

. The four state rulers continued in office and retained autonomy. The BSU was formed after the accession of four individual princely states to the new

Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...

in 1948. The area became the

Kalat Division Kalat Division or Qalat Division is an administrative division of Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Its capital city is Khuzdar. The area of Kalat Division is 140,612 km². In 2015, the Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a resoluti ...

when the Union was dissolved. The first head of the Union was the

Khan of Kalat The Khanate of Kalat ( bal, کلاتءِ ھانات) was a Baloch Khanate that existed from 1512 to 1955 in the centre of the modern-day province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Its rulers were Brahui speakers. Prior to that they were subjects of ...

, Ahmad of Kalat. The main governing body was the Council of Rulers which comprised the Khan-e-Azam, the

Jam of Lasbela Jam of Lasbela ( ur, or ) was the princely title of Las Bela State in Balochistan of Pakistan. Las Bela State was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British Raj (later a princely state of Pakistan) which existed until 1955. The ...

and the

Nawab Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Noba ...

s of Kharan and

. Decisions on major issues could be taken by a

jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

or council of all the nobles or

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also bee ...

s of the Union.

References

External links

Government of Balochistan
{{coord missing, Balochistan, Pakistan Former subdivisions of Pakistan History of Balochistan, Pakistan (1947–present) States and territories disestablished in 1955 States and territories established in 1952

See also

References

External links