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History
Kohlu is a district of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is bounded
in the north by Loralai District, Dera Bugti in the south, in the east
Rojhan-Mazari and Sibi District in the west. Kohlu District covers a total
of 7,456 square miles (19,310 km2) and according to the 1998 census of
Pakistan had a population of 99,000.
The area is mostly inhibited by a nomadic or semi - nomadic population,
which camps with their flocks of sheep and moves with the seasons to find
pasture. The area is generally mountainous and main localities in the area
are Kohlu, Fazal Chel, Maiwand, Kahan and Tadri. The district is divided in
three Tehsils i.e, Kohlu, Maiwand and Kahan with eight union councils. The
history of Kohlu District is primarily the history of Marri tribes. The land
of brave and courageous people who stood firm against the British rule and
never accepted their hegemony in the area. The rugged mountains preserve the
romance of Mir Chakar Khan Rind, hero of Baloch tribes.
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History
In early sixteenth century, three main tribes i.e Bijarani, Ghazini and
Loharani emerged in small groups. Bijar Khan found the Bijarani clan, the
Loharani by blacksmith and Ghazini clan was founded by Buledi boy adopted by
Ali Khan. The other tribe in Kohlu is Zarkoon. The British army occupied
Kahan in May 1840 but were soon forced by the Marris to evacuate. Despite
number of treaties signed by the British with the Marris, the law and order
situation could not be improved, as the Marris thought of the British as
illegal occupants of their territory. Thus everything related to the British
men, allies or installation was supposed to be attacked.
In 1898, Sardar Khair Bakhsh Marri along with many of his tribesmen migrated
to Kabul as a protest against the British occupation. However, came back
after some time unconditionally. After independence, the area remained a
political agency. The tribal leadership started voicing for unity of Baloch
tribes and for an independent Balochistan. National sentiments grew rapidly
stronger and after the arrest of Khan of Kalat in 1958, the tribesmen
started a guerilla war, although on limited scale, against the government.
The army was sent to control the movement but its presence further
deteriorated the situation. Mir Sher Muhammad Bijarani, Marri (also known as
General Sheroff) took the leadership of the movement which was called
Farrari Movement. This movement ended in 1969.
After the dismissal of the first elected government of Balochistan in 1973,
a serious conflict started between the government and the political
leadership of the province. While responding to the situation, the tribesmen
in Kohlu started a large scale insurgence in the area and after a strong
military operation they migrated to Afghanistan along with their leaders.
Coincidentally, the history repeated itself and Sardar Khair Bakhsh Khan
Marri (Chief of Marris now-a-days) went into voluntary self–exile and
reached Kabul in 1981.
Kohlu was given the status of district in 1974 and reshaped in July 1983
with three sub-divisions, Kohlu, Maiwand and Kahan. In 1990, a "Government
Sponsored" Jirga was held in Children’s Park at Kohlu in which it was
decided that Sardari System in District Kohlu be eliminated forthwith. It
was also decided in the Jirga that Khair Bakhsh Marri was no more the Nawab
of Marris. Instead a Council of elders was enacted to keep a contact with
the Government. The attempt to weaken the Nawab however failed due to his
stronghold for decades, and the tribe's loyalty towards him.
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