Balach Marri (; 17 January 1966 – 20 November 2007) was a Baloch commander in the

Balochistan Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in the Balochistan region. Operating primarily from safe havens scattered across southern Afghanistan, BLA perpetrates attacks in neighboring Paki ...

(BLA), a Baloch nationalist organisation, listed as a terrorist group by

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

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, the

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and the

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Personal life

Marri was one of six sons of Balochistan politician Khair Bakhsh Marri. Marri's brothers are Hyrbyair Marri, Ghazan Marri, Hamza Marri, Mehran Marri, and Changez Marri.

Leader of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)

Balach Marri was one of the major leaders of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). His death caused a split in the BLA. Since Hyrbyair Marri was arrested in

, Mehran Marri took control of BLA. Mehran was accused of running the affairs of the BLA in a mismanaged manner. The rift between Mehran Marri and Hyrbyair Marri led to the creation of United Baloch Army (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. 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 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, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

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

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

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

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

fighters and conducted airstrike on them, resulting in Marri's death. However, Abdul Qadeer Baloch also known as Mama Qadeer, said that Khair Bakhsh Marri believed that Hyrbyair Marri 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