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TheBrahui Confederacy was a historical tribal alliance formed byBaloch tribes, some of whom later became known as Brahui Baloch. According to Dashti, this confederacy emerged in the seventeenth century in the region of Kalat and surrounding areas, during a time of geopolitical fragmentation in South and West Asia. Under the leadership of Mir Ahmad of the Mirwadi tribe, the confederacy transitioned into a tribal chiefdom, laying the foundation for the first organized Baloch state—the Khanate of Kalat.[1]
According to Dashti, a group of Baloch tribes migrated from the Barez Mountains of Kerman to the region of Turan. These tribes later became known as Brahui Baloch. This migration contributed to the development of a distinct cultural identity within the broader Baloch framework, but did not constitute a separate ethnic group.[2]
Dashti describes Baloch society as governed by a specific constitution and system of laws. These conventions regulated marriage, inheritance, religious observance, dispute resolution, decision-making, and the duties and rights of individuals. This tribal legal framework shaped the cohesion and governance of the Brahui Confederacy.[3]
In the sixteenth century, Baloch tribes in Sarawan and Jhalawan began organizing into a strong tribal union led by the Mirwadi tribe. These tribes, primarily Barezui migrants from Kerman, referred to themselves as Brahui. The confederacy faced challenges from other Baloch tribal unions, particularly the Rind and Laashaar tribes. After a series of conflicts, the Mirwani tribe reestablished Brahui dominance in Kalat.[4]
Within a century, the Brahui tribal confederacy under Mir Ahmad established a chiefdom in 1666 that evolved into the first Baloch national state based in Kalat. This transformation demonstrated the structural capacity of tribal leaders to maintain a large-scale confederacy and convert it into a functioning nation-state.[5]
Following its initial consolidation, the Baloch state expanded in all directions. Mir Abdullah Khan, the Khan of the Baloch, allied with Nader Shah of Persia and successfully incorporated Kachchi, Makuran, and Derajat into the Khanate of Kalat. This period also saw internal civil strife after his death.[6]
The emergence of a strong Baloch national consciousness during the medieval period, shaped by cultural dominance and assimilation of other ethnic entities, provided the ideological foundation for state formation. By the early seventeenth century, only two tribal confederacies remained influential: the Buladai in Makuran and the Brahui Confederacy led by the Ahmadzai clan in Turan.[7]
The Brahui Confederacy eventually transformed into the Baloch Khanate of Kalat, which incorporated the entire Baloch regions and functioned with independent and semi-independent status for nearly 300 years. The Khanate fell twice: first in 1839, when the British occupied Kalat, and again in 1948, when the newly created state of Pakistan annexed it. Internal factors contributing to its decline included lack of succession rules, weak institutions, inter-tribal animosities, financial instability, and dynastic decay within the Ahmadzai ruling clan.[8]