Grare, Frédéric <br/><br/>
End Game in Balochistan? 

 -  2011.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 62 
<br/><br/> Since December 2005, Balochistan, the largest but least populated province of Pakistan, is torn by the fifth conflict since the independence of the country in 1947. This situation finds its immediate source in the refusal of Pervez Musharraf regime to accommodate Balochistan’demand for economic development and political autonomy. Its deeper roots however are to be found in the persistence of a Baloch nationalism which has essentially developed after the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. It is witness to the incomplete process of national integration of Pakistan. Military and civilian regimes alike have been unable to unite the populations of the country in a common political will. The future of the rebellious province remains uncertain but the current conflict is unlikely to result in its independence. Baloch nationalism however is unlikely to disappear any time soon despite the weakening of its constituent political organizations. In the medium term, the risk lies in the parallel erosion of the structures of both the federal state and the tribes. Areas of power vacuum may then emerge that will be filled by radical elements of the society, further weakening an already fragile country.