Mengal (Balochi: مینگل) are a Brahui speaking clan in Balochistan, Pakistan.[1] Mengal was originally one of the four Jat (Jadgal) tribes inhabiting Balochistan; the other three being Zehri, Bizenjo and Sajdi.[2][3]

Demographics

The Mengal tribe is one of the largest Brahui Speaking Baloch tribe. The tribe can be divided in two major branches: Zagar Mengal and Shahizai Mengal.

Tribal area

The Mengal tribal area is around 70,000 square miles (180,000 km2), stretching from the Helmand River in the North to Lasbela District in the south, and bordering on the province of Sindh to the east.[4]

Politics

For many years the Mengal tribe has been seeking greater autonomy from the Pakistan government.[5][6][7] The Pakistani government and the Mengals have been clashing for the past four decades, for various reasons.[8][9] Large-scale military operations were carried out in the area of Khuzdar in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the Pakistani government headed by the former Prime Minister Late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, with support of the Shah of Iran, carried out one of the bloodiest military operations in the history of Balochistan against the Mengal and Marri tribes which lasted for 5 years, during which around 8,000 Baloch fighters and 6,000 army soldiers were killed.

Prominent people

References

  1. Nahyan, Mansoor Bin Tahnoon Al; Hussain, Jamal; Ghafoor, Asad ul (9 May 2019). Tribes of Pakistan. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-3439-1.
  2. Baluch, Muhammad Sardar Khan (1977). History of Baluch Race and Baluchistan. Gosha-e-Adab : distributers Nisa Trader. p. 268. ...Bizanjo, Mengal, Sajdi and Zehri as Jadgal or Jats...
  3. "The Brahuis are not Brahuis". Araingang.
  4. Balochistan Administrative Districts database Planning and Development Department (P&DD) of the Government of Balochistan. Retrieved 25 November 2008
  5. Balochistan tribes threaten Pakistan's gas riches Asia Times, Jul 25, 2002 Retrieved 25 November 2008
  6. Explosive mix in Pakistan's gas province BBC News 4 February 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2008
  7. A quick death The Economist Aug 31st 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2008
  8. A Call to Resistance: The Khan of Kalat Gathers the Tribes Brooklynrail.org Retrieved 25 November 2008
  9. Balochistan Militancy - An Insider's View Rafi Bhatti January 17, 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2008
  10. Nothing but provincial autonomy, The DAWN Group of Newspapers, retrieved 25 March 2009
  11. Taking on the State: Frontline March 09, 2007, Hindunet, retrieved 25 November 2008
  12. Press briefing by the UN offices for Pakistan and Afghanistan, UN News Center, retrieved 25 March 2009
  13. Senators: Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal, Pakistan Senate, retrieved 26 March 2009
  14. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\11\11\story_11-11-2007_pg5_6
  15. http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/bnpm-leader-shot-dead-in-kalat-400
  16. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.page=2010\07\16\story_16-7-2010_pg1_4
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