Durbar legacy in Balochistan

Durbar legacy in Balochistan.

Key points

• Muhammad Amir Rana Published August 30, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026 08: 45am.
• On Feb 14, 1948, the Quaid addressed what he described as the first "shahi durbar" of Balochistan held under the authority of Pakistan.
• One of the last politically consequential Sibi Durbar assemblies took place on Feb 16, 1954.
• The Victoria Memorial Hall, now commonly known as the Jirga Hall, was the principal setting for the Sibi Durbar.
• The Sibi Durbar became a major instrument of colonial administrator Robert Sandeman's frontier policy in the late 19th century.

Muhammad Amir Rana Published August 30, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026 08: 45am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

THE idea of a durbar still fascinates us and connects us to the subcontinent's past when kings, rajas, maharajas and nawabs held court. The media, mythology, poetry, theatre, books, and cinema have supported shape the popular image of a ruler seated on his throne, with his ministers and courtiers standing before him. Matters of revenue, war, peace and justice were decided in the ruler's court. Sometimes, the ruler decided on matters of life and death.

Nevertheless, our fascination may fade once we realise that the legacy of the durbar continues under different names. Pakistan is not the only country carrying this legacy. Plenty of Western countries, including our former colonial ruler, Britain, still retain their monarchies though stripping them of their powers.

During the colonial period, the British not only preserved but additionally strengthened the durbars to control the population and govern indirectly. At the end of British rule, the subcontinent contained approximately 565 princely states. Nevertheless, historical estimates vary depending on how smaller states are classified. Thirteen were eventually incorporated into Pakistan after their rulers signed Instruments of Accession.

Among the courts inherited by Pakistan, none carried greater political symbolism in Balochistan than the Sibi Durbar. It is associated with bitter memories from both the colonial and postcolonial periods.

Meanwhile, the Sibi Durbar became a major instrument of colonial administrator Robert Sandeman's frontier policy in the late 19th century. It was an annual winter assembly at which British authorities met the officially approved Baloch, Brahui, and Pakhtun chiefs. Tribal disputes were heard, successions and political relationships were considered, honours and allowances were distributed, and the hierarchy created by colonial rule was publicly displayed.

Dismantling an institution isn't the same as changing the political culture that sustained it.

Plenty of stories were subsequently associated with the durbar and the British treatment of Baloch and Pakhtun chiefs. One account reservations an earlier Mir Khair Bakhsh Marri. This person reportedly refused an order that required the assembled sardars to pull the British political agent's carriage. According to afterwards accounts, he was punished by being denied privileges granted to more cooperative chiefs. The episode remains part of Baloch political memory.

Meanwhile, the formal arrangement of the durbar preserved the appearance of the older political order. The chiefs of Sarawan and Jhalawan traditionally sat to the right and left of the Khan of Kalat. Yet the most powerful person in the assembly was not necessarily the Khan. Effective authority rested with the British political agent.

Pakistan retained the Sibi Durbar after independence. On Feb 14, 1948, the Quaid addressed what he described as the first "shahi durbar" of Balochistan held under the authority of Pakistan. Speaking to members of the shahi jirga, the sardars and other representatives, he promised political reform. He confirmed a governor-general's advisory council as an interim arrangement until a representative constitutional system could be established.

One of the last politically consequential Sibi Durbar assemblies took place on Feb 16, 1954. A number of sardars submitted a petition to the office of the agent to the governor-general calling for the Balochistan States Union (BSU) to be merged with the former Chief Commissioner's Province of Balochistan.

In practice, the BSU emerged from an agreement among the rulers of Kalat, Kharan, Makran, and Lasbela in 1952 and formally came into existence on Oct 3 that year. The four rulers retained limited authority within a union headed initially by the Khan of Kalat. The arrangement, nevertheless, survived for only three years. In October 1955, the Union was dissolved and incorporated into the newly created province of West Pakistan under the One Unit scheme.

Historians have questioned whether the petition presented at the 1954 durbar represented a spontaneous demand by the sardars or reflected a political process already being encouraged by the central administration. Whatever its origins, the episode demonstrated that the durbar could still be applied to provide traditional legitimacy for decisions being shaped elsewhere.

In practice, the abolition of the BSU and the imposition of One Unit deepened political resentment in Balochistan. Though his armed struggle began a few years afterwards, a few accounts additionally linked Nawab Nauroz Khan's uprising with the decision.

Notably, the Victoria Memorial Hall, now commonly known as the Jirga Hall, was the principal setting for the Sibi Durbar. Although it continues to be applied for official and cultural functions, it has since been converted into the Sibi Jirga Hall Museum. Its collection includes photographs, documents, and objects related to the colonial period and the region's history. Photographs of Jinnah's 1948 visit preserve the moment when the new state addressed Balochistan through a political institution inherited from the Raj.

It is understandable that a newly created country confronting immense administrative and security challenges, could not dismantle every princely and colonial structure overnight. Pakistan required a number of years, and in some cases decades, to integrate the former princely states.

But dismantling an institution is not the same as changing the political culture that sustained it. The princely courts disappeared, the colonial officers departed, and the old administrative structures were formally replaced. Yet the concentration of authority, reliance on selected intermediaries, and preference for managed consultation over genuine representation continued to shape relations between the centre and Balochistan.

There is an element of the colonial legacy in Balochistan's governance model and in the administration of its resources and politics. The Baloch sardars, despite the abolition of the sardari system in 1976, follow the same order and remain subservient to the power elites; hardly anyone raises a voice, and the reason is obvious: they don't want to lose power or diminish their relationship with the power elites.

Though few satirically associate a new institutional mechanism, called 'workshop', with the tradition of the durbar, Balochistan is still suffering. Power elites address their grievances through colonial instruments and have not created an earnest attempt to initiate the nation-building process or remove intermediaries – such as sardars and other cronies – between the state and the masses. Perhaps the power elites know that such a shift would change the entire power dynamic in the province and the country. The writer is a security analyst. Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026.

Muhammad Amir Rana is a security analyst. He is the Director of Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), Islamabad, Pakistan.

Taken together, the developments around durbar legacy in Balochistan point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.