Tribal System of Baluchistan

DIFFERENT TRIBES, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
AND TRIBAL CULTURES

  1. Historical Background of Tribal System. The history of tribal system is as old as of mankind. From the very beginning, individuals lived in different groups of their choice mainly for survival. These groups with the passage of time converted into different tribes and shifted to various parts of the world as suited to their requirements. Like many other parts of the world, Balochistan is known as the Land of Tribes since centuries. All the tribes are settled in different parts of the province having little variation in their culture and traditions. In few tribes, the tribal chief gets more importance like Bugtis and Marri tribes and in few, the tribe itself is more important like tribes of Pashtoons and Mekran areas.
  2. Internal Dynamics of Balochistan. A large number of big and small communities with ethnic diversities live and influence the socio-political psyche and internal dynamics of the Province. The major communities are Pakhtoons, Brahvis and Balochis. The details about these ethnic groups are:-
  a. Pakhtoons.   They are 40% of the population and occupy about one fifth of the area in North and North Eastern parts of the Province.
  b. Brahvis.   They are 25% of the population and concentrated in Western and Central parts of the Province.
  c. Baloch.   They are 28% of the population and are mainly concentrated in Eastern and South Western parts of the Province.
  d. Remaining 7% are mostly Hazaras and other settlers.
  3. Pakhtoon Tribes. Ref Annex A. The Pakhtoons are a dominant community in Balochistan in terms of education, economy and share in government services and have almost monopolized trade entirely. Even in the field of agriculture, the main produce of Balochistan comes from Pathan areas. Most of the professional fields like teaching, medicine and engineering are dominated by them. Different tribes, back ground, areas of influence and social characteristics of the...