Talk:Princely state

Bangash sources

Ah so you admit you are editing here with a WP:BATTLEGROUND mentality. Thanks. That confirms the suspicions of many. And yes Fowler did indeed warn you about your contentious treatment of sources.

And you need to stop shooting down historians with your personal assessments of them. Jalal is a well-known revisionist according to Metcalf. Bangash, in contrast, gets positive reviews. There is no WP:BURDEN on me to figure out why a battallion was sent, you are the one making that claim.

It's a big call for you to make to reject an article from an established historian just because its been published in an ISPR magazine given you have been pushing for the inclusion of views from Indian Ministry of Defence-funded institutes on Talk:History of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Besides Bangash has written a whole chapter on the accession of Kalat, in a positively reviewed book published by Oxford University Press, more credible than a couple of passing sentences from Jalal and Samad (who himself cites Bangash). Go read it. The ISPR magazine article summarises whatever he wrote in his book. And it was a response to Modi's speech when he interfered in Balochistan's internal affairs.

Here is a summary of that chapter from the scholar Ishtiaq Ahmed who notes that Bangash's account of the subject of Kalat's accession has received a lot of partisan comment (referring obviously to passerbys like Jalal and political scientists who write anything they like).^[1]

The case of Kalat State understandably receives in-depth attention as its accession continues to be debated even now and fact and fiction have been freely mixed by partisan researchers. It was the largest princely state to become a part of Pakistan, but only through a highly chequered process. It had been briefly a part of the Mughal Empire and in 1839 been recognized as a vassal of the Amir of Kabul. Unlike most other princely states Kalat had few direct links with the British Government at Delhi but the British presence in Kalat affairs had been secured by the time the future of India after a British withdrawal began to be considered. Historically Kalat was not an absolute monarchy; rather, it was a confederation of tribal leaders and smaller feudatory units such as Makran, Las Bela and Kharan states with the Khan of Kalat at the centre of such a power structure. Ahmed Yar Khan assumed the title of Khan of Kalat in 1933. He tried tried to assert and enhance his power within the confederacy as well as in relation to the British. Education and other developments had seriously lagged behind. However, political awareness had been growing among some sections of society and a few Baloch students had studied in educational institutions in India. Among them, Baloch nationalism had been evolving gradually and they preferred independence rather than joining Pakistan.

In April 1947 Ahmed Yar Khan tried to assert the complete independence of Kalat but simultaneously expressed his support for the Pakistan demand. He wanted areas leased out to the British to be returned to Kalat –something which neither Mountbatten approved nor the Muslim League. These included Quetta and the Bolan Pass. In any case, Pakistan had recognized Kalat’s independence in a communique dated 11 August 1947 as it felt that neither India nor Britain would exploit such a situation. However, this was only a paper exercise because from the beginning Pakistan was determined to annex it. Negotiations between the Government of Pakistan and Kalat started in September 1947; the Khan was reluctant to sign the Accession Bill so Jinnah met him in October and persuaded him to join Pakistan. The Khan was disappointed but his hands were further weakened when the khans of Kharan and Las Bela offered to accede to Pakistan. After some hesitation both were recognized as separate states on 17 March 1948. It was followed by increasing pressure when Col. Shah was despatched to expedite the accession. Rumours that the Khan had been seeking help from Afghanistan and a false report on All India Radio on 27 March that the Khan had approached India to accept its accession placed him in a very vulnerable position and in panic he signed the Accession Bill to join Pakistan. His brother Prince Karim tried to put up resistance but that proved futile and Pakistan troops took hold of Kalat by early April 1948.^[1]

Pakistan may have wanted to annex it, a colonel was sent to hasten/encourage the accession. But that does not mean there was a forceful annexation. The troops entered after the accession, which the Khan did out of panic, after the news was published on All India Radio. Bangash summarises it aptly in that Routledge book vetted by Ian Talbot and Roger Long that the accession was the outcome of bureaucratic tactics and negotiations. To describe it as an annexation is not true, unless of course your definition of annexation is so loose that we can include Travancore, a state India bullied into accession. Sheriff | ☎ 911 | 15:03, 3 May 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for that. That is the first good post made on this topic. As Ishtiaq Ahmed points out, the case of Kalat State understandably receives in-depth attention as its accession continues to be debated. So you people should not act as if it is cut-and-dried and all crystal clear. I will think about Ahmed's review and also see if I can extract more information from the Axmann book. There is a good reason why Yunas Samad cites Axmann as well as Bangash. If Bangash continues to claim that the approach to India was "false propaganda" then his credibility goes down. It is known that an approach was made and Nehru turned it down, and the Hindu nationalists even today rant against Nehru for that. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 16:41, 3 May 2018 (UTC)

I am finding some similar problems with the sources. Bangash maybe a reliable source but doesn't seem accurate or neutral in this subject per WP:IRS. D4iNa4 (talk) 04:27, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Why was he in a vulnerable position if there was no threat of force? As an independent ruler, he was free to accede to any country he wanted. It was because India turned him down and he knew that Pakistan would invade that he became "vulnerable". He had no internal threat. His own people were not agitating to join Pakistan. The only threat was external.

Secondly, I don't know wherefrom Bangash got Prince Karim resistance in April. That was in Ramzan month according to Major General Muhammed Akbar Khan.^[2] And I checked that Ramzan that year was in July.

The troops were sent on 1 April, according to multiple reliable sources. I have already quoted Selig Harrison earlier. Ishtiaq Ahmed himself accepted his version of events in his earlier writings.^[3] Riaz Ahmed from Quaid-i-Azam University also said it.^[4] A much more solid source is this one:^[5]

General Akbar Khan received the order to move from Quetta to Kalat, and on 1 April 1948 the Pakistan army occupied the constitutional "vacuum" of Baluchistan. The Khan protested but signed the accession of the state of Kalat and of British Baluchistan to Pakistan. The Baluch nationalist leaders were jailed or exiled. (pp.162-163)

And, there is absolutely no evidence that the Khan had signed the accession before 1 April. The accession happened after the troops moved in, and he had no choice but to succumb. That is annexation. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 19:07, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Annexation is correct word because: "On April 1, Pakistani regular forces garrisoned at Quetta were deployed in Kalat." There are many sources supporting the same. D4iNa4 (talk) 05:12, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

Arbitrary break

• Both of you have made no edits recently, is this correct context: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princely_state&type=revision&diff=834481196&oldid=834065334 ? --G (talk) 06:00, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

Well if its not clear-cut and dried according to you then why are you introducing factually inaccurate statements to Wikipedia? Fowler told you (in the diff SheriffIsInTown has pointed out to you) that consensus positions are illustrated in the meta histories. Meta-histories like Ian Talbot mention Junagadh, Kashmir and Hyderabad but do not mention Kalat. Also see how Brittanica describes it,

See Britannica's description for Kalat: ″The region became part of Pakistan in 1948.″^[1]

Compare this with its description for Junagadh and Hyderabad: ″Junagadh, however, faced Pakistan on the Arabian Sea, and when its nawab followed Jinnah’s lead in opting to join that Muslim nation, India’s army moved in and took control of the territory. The nizam of Hyderabad was more cautious, hoping for independence for his vast domain in the heart of southern India, but India refused to give him much more than one year and sent troops into the state in September 1948. Both invasions met little, if any, resistance, and both states were swiftly integrated into India’s union.″^[2]}}

Also reread that Ahmed is saying that the matter of Kalat's accession has been subject to partisan commentary and thats why Bangash has given it in depth analysis ″The case of Kalat State understandably receives in-depth attention as its accession continues to be debated even now and fact and fiction have been freely mixed by partisan researchers.″

What your reply shows is that you have not done your homework and will return to the books now, this time to Axmann (a political scientist) and we have no guarantee of what kind of read you will give. I have read reviews of the book but can't find anything that suggests it endorsed the annexation POV that you wish to include.

Your comment ″If Bangash continues to claim that the approach to India was "false propaganda" then his credibility goes down. It is known that an approach was made and Nehru turned it down, and the Hindu nationalists even today rant against Nehru for that″ is not only personal taking-apart of the scholars, which MPS1992 told you is not for us Wikipedians to do, but it is also personal interpretation of cherry-picked primary sources with a special preference for the Indian perspective. Anyone can claim anything. Ultimately, its not the editor's interpretation of primary sources that have any bearing. The Khan of Kalat Khan himself denied he ever gave an accession offer to India and he said this was false Indian propaganda (regardless of what one Congress leader from Balochistan said). To that you would reply that the ″Just because the Khan called it "false propaganda" (what else would the poor man do?)″ because you would prefer to interpret the primary sources from the anti-Pakistan perspective. Such personal interpretation of primary sources will not get anyone anywhere. For this reason Wikipedia demands the use of secondary sources.

I also agree with SheriffIsInTown and suggest you start reading up on Travancore's accession if you want to expand the definition of annexation.--NadirAli نادر علی (talk) 04:55, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Here is a review of Axmann's book by the Indian scholar A. G Noorani. Some interesting comments.

Hyderabad had to be brought into the Indian Union by armed action on September 13, 1948. The British were dismayed at Jinnah’s legal advice to Kalat. It was never independent, nor was Hyderabad. The Khan of Kalat acceded to Pakistan only on March 20, 1948, when his intrigues with New Delhi and Kabul were exposed. However, in mid-July the Khan’s brother returned from Afghanistan where he had fled with a lashkar (army). Pakistan’s army had to engage them.

″“Annexation” is surely a wrong word to use. It reveals the author’s approach, if not, indeed, his pro-Baloch bias.″^[3]

So the Pakistani military action was in response to the Khan's brother bringing an army with him after the Khan had acceded. And even if Axmann has carelessly called it an annexation, it just shows his bias.

And here are the facts of the situation presented by a assistant professor from Quaid e Azam's department of History, now Allama Iqbal fellow at Cambridge University, Dushka Saiyid, in ″The Accession of Kalat: Myth and Reality″

The ruler of Las Bela too had been lobbying with the Quaid-i-Azam to let his state accede to Pakistan. Kharan and Las Bela appear to have been operating in tandem on this issue. On September 5, 1947, Mir Ghulam Qadir wrote to the Quaid, saying that he had already written to the Pakistani Prime Minister offering accession of Las Bela to the Pakistan Dominion.The letter also mentioned the dire economic conditions of the people of Las Bela as its supplies seem to have been cut off by Kalat. On March 17, 1948, Las Bela too acceded to Pakistan along with Mekran and Kharan. However, by this time the Kalat Government had heard a Radio Pakistan announcement that the Government of Pakistan had accepted the separate accession of Las Bela, Kharan, and Mekran, and wanted this report denied. The Kalat Government said that the accession of these states would be contrary to the Standstill Agreement with Pakistan, which was recently affirmed in the House of Commons.

On March 18, 1948, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan issued a press note that the States of Kharan, Las Bela and Mekran had applied for accession to Pakistan, which was granted to them. The press report also said that after the accession of these three states to Pakistan, Kalat's territory had been reduced to half of its previous area, and had ceased to have any outlet to the sea. The UK High Commissioner in Pakistan reported that the offer of accession was accepted by the Pakistan Cabinet when Jam of Las Bela, Chief of Kharan and Nawab Bai Khan of Mekran met the Quaid on March 17, 1948 and told him that if Pakistan was not prepared to accept their offers of accession immediately, they would be compelled to take other steps for their protection against Khan of Kalat's aggressive actions. This was seen as a blow to the Khan as head of the Confederacy, the Baluchistan States Union.

What finally forced the Khan of Kalat to accede was the furore caused by news on the All India Radio that the Khan had been negotiating with India. As a consequence of these developments, a report on March 20, claimed that the brother of the Khan, who was also the Governor of Kalat, was leaving for Afghanistan with his wife, who was from the Royal Afghan family.56 However, on March 28, the Reuters news agency carried a story filed from Karachi that 'Gateway State; Joins Pakistan.' The Khan issued a communiqué, which said: On the night of March 27, All India Radio, Delhi announced that two months ago Kalat State had approached the Indian Union to accept its accession to India and that the Indian Union had rejected the request; It had never been my intention to accede to India;It is, therefore, declared that from 9 pm on March 27th; the time when I heard the false news over the air, I forthwith decide to accede to Pakistan, and that whatever differences now exist between Kalat and Pakistan be placed in writing before Mr Jinnah, the Governor-General of Pakistan, whose decision I shall accept. The UK High Commissioner, commenting on the Khan's denials, wrote: Khan's public denials of rumours about offers made to him by India and Afghanistan conflict with his own statements in earlier discussion with Pakistan representatives, when he used these offers as a blackmailing argument. There is good reason to believe that he has been flirting with both India and Afghanistan.

There was no kind of resistance to the accession till the middle of July 1948, when the brother of the Khan returned from Afghanistan, where he had fled with a body of armed followers. The Pakistan Army engaged this band and the majority of his followers arrested.

Again there was no military annexation. The army fought the Khan's brother, did not force the Khan to accede. Sheriff | ☎ 911 | 13:59, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

What was the date on the Instrument of Accession, and when was it accepted? -- Kautilya3 (talk) 15:42, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Hi Kautilya3. First - if you could stop making this discussion long and confusing with needless new sections, to make it go ahead on your own terms - that would be helpful. Secondly, I have a few things (and sources) to add, building on what I've read above. The following is unacceptable WP:SPECULATION: Why was he in a vulnerable position if there was no threat of force? As an independent ruler, he was free to accede to any country he wanted. It was because India turned him down and he knew that Pakistan would invade that he became "vulnerable". He had no internal threat. His own people were not agitating to join Pakistan. The only threat was external.

Wikipedia is not a WP:CRYSTALBALL. The Saiyid source already makes clear that the Pakistani states Las Bela, Makran and Kharan were complaining about Kalat's aggressions. We have Indian sources also accepting that before they willingly acceded to Pakistan, these three states were asking Pakistan for protection from Kalat.^[4] Let's focus on what is explicitly stated by reliable sources. Prof. Duksha Saiyid: As this account makes amply clear, the story of the accession of Kalat was a long drawn out process. And although Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, the accession of Kalat did not take place till March 27, 1948. The three feudatories, two of which Las Bela and Kharan, which were recognized by the British as independent, played a key role in forcing the Khan of Kalat to accede to Pakistan. Thus, the "vulnerabilities" are self-made/imaginary. In fact, historians do note that after Makran acceded and before Kalat acceded, Kalat even tried to force Makran to withdraw its accession, causing Pakistan to send its army to protect Makran.^[5]

Thirdly, multiple WP:RS state the accession was made in March,^[6][7][8] even the biased^[9] Axmann admits it.^[10] Duksha Saiyid states While the Instrument of Accession was signed by the Khan of Kalat on March 27, it was placed before Jinnah on March 31, 1948, who accepted it.. The Indian government also as a matter of fact did not deny that accession took place in March, even if they got the exact date wrong.^[11] Attiya Khanam, from the history department at the Multan University, also repeats that the accession took place on 27 March but it was announced late on 1 April.^[12]

Mar4d, first of all, you can stop shouting. We have been discussing calmly until you joined us. I asked yesterday what was the date of the accession. Now we have the answer: 27 March 1948. Unfortunately, this doesn't settle the matter. You can see from the long list below that there are plenty of scholars who refuse to take this date at face value. They include, believe it or not, Professor Riaz Ahmad, the Quaid-e-Azam Chair at the Quaid-e-Azam University . If you think you can railroad all these sources, fat chance!

I have ordered the Axmann book. You are welcome to go and look up the Bangash book. And then we will see who says what. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 15:41, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

Date of accession

Towards resolution

In the light of the fact that accession preceded the sending of troops, the terminology of "annexation" is not easily justifiable. I still have a lot of work to do to absorb all the new evidence, but for the time being, I am happy to change the wording

to the new wording

This much is easily supported by the citations given. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 10:31, 6 May 2018 (UTC)

The way forward is clear. There's no need to mention Kalat at all. The new wording is just as faulty as the first one. The citations as you have been told are too poor in quality. Its known that there are countless secondary sources out there, otherwise reliable, but which make ludicrous assertions out of thin air in a variety of subjects. And the accession of Kalat is one such subject. There was simply no military intervention inside Kalat before the accession. The sources which say otherwise have been caught with false assertions, false dates and the like and so can't be counted on for the truth.

Going through the sources which cover the whole affair in detail its not too difficult to understand what happened. Political scientist Rizwan Zeb explains the whole story,

The developments detailed above clearly indicate that in this whole process of accession of Kalat with Pakistan, Pakistan army was neither involved nor it played any role in the actual accession of Kalat yet it is one of the most tenacious myth propogated...What exactly happened? The answer to this lies in Makran and its decision to join Pakistan. Unlike Las Bela and Kharan, Makran was a part of the state of Kalat. It was administrated by the nawabs and sardars of Kech, Panjgur, Tump and an official appointed by the Khan of Kalat. It seems that once the government of Pakistan got disappointed and frustrated by the behaviour and double speak of Ahmed Yar Khan, it decided to accept any application for accession. When Nawab Bai Khan Gichki applied for accession with Pakistan, Pakistan readily accepted it. Makran along with Las Bela and Kharan joined Pakistan on 17 March 1948. At the time, Prince Abdul Karim, younger brother of Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan was representing Kalat in Makran. He publically refused to accept Makran's accession with Pakistan and continued to operate from his office. Tension rose between Prince Karim and Nawab Bai Khan, the newly appointed Wali (ruler) of Makran. Soon the situation reached an impasse. All the communication lines to Makran were abstracted. Heavy rain fall added to this. After Ahmed Yar Khan stopped rations and other supplies to Makran Levy Corps, the only option left was to air drop or supply them through Jiwani. Under such circumstances, under the advice of AAG, Sir Ambrose Dundas, a high level meeting took place in which it was decided that to ensure that no unpleasant event takes place and to avoid any further disturbances, to send enforcements. It was decided to send security forces for securing the key installations and communication lines and roads. It was also decided that the Khan of Kalat would be informed of this development before hand so that no unpleasant event occurs. However, before any of this happened, Khan of Kalat, Ahmed Yar Khan, after listening to the All India Radio report, announced an unconditional accession to Pakistan.^[1]

The historian Attiya Khanam says pretty much the same,

He thought the key to accession of Kalat lay in Mekran where he could create problems for Pakistan. He sent his sister to Karachi to fetch his brother in law Bai Khan the ruler of Mekran to force him to retract his decision to accede Pakistan. Khan’s brother Abdul Karim Khan first tried to foment disturbances in Mekran to embrace Pakistan to line up army reinforcement and then fled to Afghanistan to muster support .The Khan also sent the member of his family over to Afghanistan to gather support. The Prime Minster of Afghanistan offered his good office for placing the case of Kalat before the United Nations if Kalat so wished. The Khan also chose to withhold ration and transport from the Mekran Levy Corps with the view to exposing them to the danger of starvation. In view of political and security situation following the Khan’s intransigence, Pakistan was forced to take certain administrative and defense measures to secure Jiwani, Turbat, Pasni and Panjgur areas. To ward off any incident or disorder the Kalat Premier was asked to hand over administration in these and other areas to Pakistan along with the treasuries.^[2]

Surprisingly even the political scientist Martin Axmann, who otherwise is biased, and who at times contradicts himself by giving wrong dates for the signage of the accession, pretty much corroborates the above events.

The (new) wali of Makran (Nawab Bai Khan Gichki) and the (old) khan of Kalat (Mir Ahmad Yar Khan) were the main antagonists in the months just prior and after Makran's and Kalat's separate accession to Pakistan.^[3]

Although Ahmad Yar and Nawab Gickhi were brothers-in-law, they had fallen out with each other after Makran's separate accession to Pakistan.^[4]

Furthermore, the Makran Levy Corps, the only (para-)military force present in Makran to establish and maintain Pakistan's authority over the new state, depended on Kalat's officials for the procurement of food supplies via the coastal town of Pasni. It was in apparent danger of being starved, as the khan stopped fulfilling his obligation to provide rations to the levy corps after Makran acceded to Pakistan. It was expected that food supplies would soon have to be landed by sea or air at the aero-naval base of Jiwani. Considering the serious nature of the situation, and not knowing if and when the khan would come to terms with Pakistan, the AGG in Quetta, Sir Ambrose Dundas, requested in late March 1948 that reinforcements for the Makran Levy Corps be dispatched immediately. He informed the government in Karachi on 24 March that it would be ″'essential now to show force in Mekran' in order to deter the khan and his officials from taking any precipitate action, and to enable a change over in administration to take place peacefully. I am telegraphing separately my proposals for future administrative control over Mekran...In order that there may be no incidents please tell Khan or his Wazir-i-Azam on Monday noon our proposed move in Jiwani and Pasni so that he may telegraph instructions to his officers to hand over the administration quietly. We do not want any incidents. Similarly his officers elsewhere should be ready to hand over administration and the treasuries to our officers as soon as they are directed to do so by the latter.″ Ahmad Yar's final decision to accede whatever was left of the khanate of Kalat to Pakistan only a few hours later was received with a sigh of relief. The tension that had prevailed for the past ten days was lifted, and the Government of Pakistan could start putting the administration of the four Balochistan states on its track.^[5]

So this is what happened. The Khan of Kalat fell out with his brother-in-law, the ruler of Makran, when the latter wanted to join Pakistan. Khan argued that Makran was part of Kalat (something which the pro-Baloch writer Axmann and even Zeb agrees with) but Makran said no they are separate and want to go with Pakistan. Then the Khan stopped the food supplies to the Makran Levy Corps, even though he was under an obligation to supply them (according to Axmann). To prevent the starvation (according to both Axmann and Khanam) Sir Ambrose requested reinforcements for the Makran Levy Corps and also asked Pakistan to peacefully secure administration of the Makran which had already willingly acceded to Pakistan, to deter Kalat's aggression on Makran. However, even before Pakistan made its move to secure the Makran areas (and not Kalat) the Khan had heard the All India Radio announcement and decided to accede immediately. Martin Axmann says that the Khan maintained that he acceded because he felt that the existence of Pakistan was at stake.^[6] So that is the end of the accession story. There was no military force involved. And even before the proposed military action for securing Makran (and again, not Kalat) could have happened the Khan made up his mind the same day to join Pakistan after the AIR announcement. Multiple reliable sources identify the AIR announcement as the trigger for the accession. Including the Khan himself.^[7]

And while the historians Bangash and Saiyid do write that in the background of the radio announcement the Khan of Kalat was feeling pressured because he felt landlocked when the other three states had acceded, that does not mean that coercion actually took place. Being made to feel pressured and actually being coerced are not the same things at all. Travancore and many Indian states were also under pressure from Patel. Should that be called coercion too?^[8]

The Mekran issue is a very tricky one, but I don't think it has any bearing on what is at issue here. Let us focus on what happened inside Kalat proper. Here are two passages from Alia Amirali:^[9]

The discussions on the possibilities of formulating Kalat's relationship with Pakistan, as posited in the Standstill Agreement, never took place. Seven months later, on 27 March 1948, Kalat acceded to Pakistan. Whether it was a willing accession or a coerced one is a disputed matter,[31] with pro-state historians arguing that the Khan willingly made the decision to accede, and nationalist scholars maintaining that Balochistan was annexed. However, what is certain is that it was an unpopular decision, and sparked the first revolt led by the Khan of Kalat's brother (see also the next section in this chapter). The Pakistan Army, which had already been sent in to Kalat, put down the rebellion. (pp. 22-23)

This accords well with what I proposed: "seen as coerced" and "involved a military intervention".

The dissonance between the Khan's decision to accede to Pakistan and the Baloch desire for autonomy resulted almost immediately in the first wave of the Baloch resistance to Pakistani occupation. Public rallies were organized by the leadership of the KSNP and an armed rebellion was led by the Khan's brother, Prince Abdul Karim, against the accession. The Pakistan Army, which had already been readied and stationed in the southern districts prior to the accession, moved into Kalat on April 1, 1948. It was given standing orders to suppress any disorder created by the nationalists. The KSNP leaders were arrested and the Khan was put under house arrest. (pp. 24-25)

Here is Owen Bennet Jones again:^[10]

Pakistani historians now portray Mir Ahmed Yar Khan as an isolated and recalcitrant individual who ungraciously failed to bow to the inevitable.[41] But for the new Pakistani government, incorporating Kalat into the country was far from easy: almost a year passed before this was achieved - and then only with the use of force. In April 1948 the Pakistani army marched on Kalat and, eventually, the Khan signed an agreement of accession. After 225 days of independence, Kalat became part of Pakistan. (p.133)

NadirAli keeps saying we should use "high level histories". Here is exactly such a high-level history. These historians might not get all the details right. But they are focusing on the big picture. And, the big picture is clear. Force was necessary and it did not go down well. -- Kautilya3 (talk) 23:47, 6 May 2018 (UTC)

There was no force involved according to historians. Professor Najib Alvi points out that Muhammad Saeed Dehwar, who was the leader of the pro-Kalat Baloch nationalist Kalat State National Party, accepts that there was no force involved in the accession.^[11] And your proposed text does not accord with Amirali either. Amirali says coercion is disputed, whereas your text is inclining in favor of the coercion myth. And Amirali nowhere says that the accession process required a military intervention. She says the military was used to crush the Khan's brother's rebellion after the accession. Which raises the points of WP:UNDUE and WP:FAILEDVERIFICATION for ″required a military intervention.″ High-level histories must be used. Neither Amiraliali nor Jones are historians. Jones is a journalist. The tertiary sources such as Britannica do not describe Kalat as an invasion or annexation, it uses neutral wording, unlike its wording for Hyderabad and Junagadh which incorporates the term ″invasions.″ Ian Talbot also does not include Kalat with Kashmir, Junagadh and Hyderabad. High level histories don't give them the same status. If they don't give them the same status so shouldn't we. Its a WP:FALSEBALANCE, even more serious since its being proposed for inclusion in the lead.--NadirAli نادر علی (talk) 03:22, 7 May 2018 (UTC)