# Baloch–Kurdish relations

Baloch–Kurdish relations covers the historical relations between Kurds and Baloch people, two Iranian peoples.

## Origin

The Baloch and Kurds were generally considered the closest nations to each other, both ethnically and linguistically. Kurds and Balochis, both being Iranian peoples, originated from Andronovo in Central Asia, before migrating westwards. According to Balochi folklore, the Baloch settled around Aleppo, later migrating to the Caspian region in the 4th century, before settling in Balochistan in the 7th century. Aleppo had a significant Kurdish population, although ethnic cleansing during the Syrian civil war had affected it. The Balochi language was influenced by Persian, Urdu, Pashto, and Dravidian languages. However, both Kurdish and Balochi were considered the closest languages to each other and were classified as Northwestern Iranian. Both the Baloch and Kurds claimed descent from the Medes. Their folklore also made mentions of the Alborz mountains, and Kurdish and Balochi were the only languages in which the word "borz" meant "high". Both folklores claimed that their ancestors belonged to the same tribes. There were conflicting claims about whether the Baloch were descendants of the Kurds, or whether the Kurds were descendants of the Baloch. However, the general claims were that neither group descended from the other, rather they had common ancestors and split after the migrations. Historically, there have been Kurds with Balochi names, and Baloch with Kurdish names. DNA samples of Baloch and Kurds in the 2010s confirmed a relation.
The most argued hypothesis on the localization of the ethnic territory of the Kurds was D.N. Mackenzie's theory, proposed in the early 1960s. It regarded the common phonetic isoglosses shared by Kurdish, Persian, and Balochi. D.N. Mackenzie proposed the creation of Kurdish-Persian-Balochi, which would have been a branch of the Northwestern Iranian languages consisting of Kurdish, Persian, and Balochi. He claimed that they had common ancestors, and that the Persians were descendants of those who lived in the province of Fars, Kurds were the descendants of those who lived to the southeast of Kurdistan, while the Balochis were descendants of those who lived to the west of Kurdistan before their migration to Balochistan. However, only Kurdish and Balochi were classified as Northwestern Iranian, while Persian was classified as Southwestern Iranian. Other Northwestern Iranian languages close to Kurdish and Balochi included the Semnani languages and the Caspian languages.

## History

Balochis and Kurds established solidarity after the division of Balochistan and Kurdistan across different countries, as well as being stateless. While both groups followed Islam, their national movements were largely secular. secularism in Balochistan was significant in the national movement. The Kurdish movement was also known for secularism. Baloch and Kurds, along with Pashtuns, often faced alienation from the Islamic world, as the separatist movements in Balochistan, Kurdistan, and Pashtunkhwa aimed at gaining independence from predominantly Muslim states. Baloch nationalists claimed that the international community was silent on Balochistan, and that Kurds had been the only ones who supported the Baloch.
In Iranian Khorasan, the Khorasani Baloch and Khorasani Kurds live in close proximities, and both were largely deported there by various Iranian dynasties. Baloch and Kurds also formed minority populations in Turkmenistan. In Soviet Turkmenistan, the Kurds and Baloch both had their own newspapers and textbooks, and both of their languages were written in the Latin script. However, after Turkmen independence, Saparmurat Niyazov repressed minorities in his attempt to promote Turkmen culture. Mainly the Baloch were forbidden from teaching their language and culture in schools.
In the 1960s, amid unrest in Kurdistan and an insurgency in Balochistan, there was an agreement signed between Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey, known as the Regional Cooperation for Development in 1964. The alliance had its rationale in the shared desire to suppress the Baloch and Kurdish insurgencies.
Women played a big role in both the Kurdish and Balochi movements. Following a wave of Balochi women-led protests against the Pakistani government, a group of Kurdish women sent a message titled "from Rojava to all the women and people of Balochistan" in which they said "until the end, we stand with you and we will not let go of each other". Balochi groups showed overwhelming support for the 2017 Kurdish referendum. Kurds who fled Saddam Hussein and went to Pakistan were often mistreated by Pakistani authorities alongside the Baloch. There was a very notable solidarity between Kurds and Baloch in Iran. They often protested together, chanting "Kurds and Balochis are brothers, all thirsty for the blood of the leader." Most prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran were Kurds and Baloch. The Islamic Republic commonly accused Israel and the United States are active in both the Balochi and Kurdish movements. Turkey, while arresting Kurdish activists, had also arrested Baloch activists and extradited them to Pakistan and Iran.

## Militant

Early Baloch separatists were inspired by Kurdish separatists and sympathized with them. The BLA had also been inspired by the PKK, especially by its ideology, tactics, motivations, and the equality of men and women. The Baloch nationalists also viewed the Kurdish nationalist movement as a historical parallel.
Allah Nazar Baloch of the BLF supported Kurdish independence. There were also reports of cooperation between BLA and Syria-based PKK militants, and plans to form a Kurdish-Baloch front in Afghanistan to attack Turkish and Pakistani interests, and to fund separatists in Kurdistan and Balochistan.
Mahal Baloch, a BLA female suicide bomber during the August 2024 Balochistan attacks, had adopted her alias "Zilan Kurd" after Zeynep Kınacı. On September 3, 2024, armed Kurdish pro-PKK militants entered Şişli Plaza in Istanbul, burning, ransacking, and destroying Turkish government properties. They claimed that the attack was provoked by the imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan, and dedicated the attack to Mahal Baloch, and Rizwan Baloch, who was another BLA suicide bomber during the same attack.