In the administrative history of British Balochistan, few figures combined authority, restraint, and local understanding as consistently as Khan Bahadur Murtaza Khan. Serving during a period marked by tribal tension, colonial uncertainty, and natural catastrophe, his career offers a rare example of governance achieved more through persuasion than force.

Murtaza Khan entered public service as a Deputy Range Forest Officer in Ziarat, then a modest patwar circle within Sibi District. His administrative competence soon brought him to the attention of the colonial authorities, and he was inducted into the Civil Service of Balochistan.

Over the following years, he served as Extra Assistant Commissioner in Lower Zhob and Shirani with headquarters at Fort Sandeman. During this period, a British officer was kidnapped by tribesmen; Murtaza Khan recovered him within twenty-four hours without violence. He was subsequently posted to Upper Zhob at Hindubagh (now Muslim Bagh), a sensitive frontier subdivision bordering Afghanistan. Despite the volatile conditions, he maintained order through sound judgment and a deep understanding of tribal customs and land affairs.

He later served in Pishin, a subdivision of Quetta/Pishin district, and was subsequently transferred to Sibi as Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sibi and Harnai. In 1930, on the orders of the Agent to the Governor-General of Baluchistan, he took control of the Marri/Bugti area, which had previously been administered by Sardar Mehrab Khan Bugti, the father of Abdurrehman Bugti and Akber Bugti.

The Marri–Bugti Assignment

The Marri–Bugti region was characterized by entrenched tribal loyalties and long-standing rivalries. Recognizing the sensitivity of the area, the British authorities placed it under the direct charge of Murtaza Khan.

He succeeded in asserting government authority without provoking large-scale........

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