NEW DELHI: PM
Narendra Modi’s warning to Pakistan seems to have struck home. He had said on Friday that if Pakistan continued to meddle in
Kashmir and incite violence and terror, India would be forced to expose the atrocities it continues to commit in its restive Balochistan. The PM’s warning was welcomed by a number of prominent activists in
Balochistan, who used the opportunity to go all guns blazing on
Islamabad
.
“We the people of Balochistan, Pakistan and PoK thank you (PM Modi) for your support,” news agency ANI reported World
Baloch Women's Forum president
Naela Qadri Baloch
as saying in an interview. “We the people of Balochistan are suffering. We hope that you (PM Modi) raise this issue in the UN session in September,” she continued in her message to PM Modi.
Naela Qadri is among the ranks of prominent
Balochi
activists who repeatedly call on India to intervene in Balochistan, as it did in the case of Bangladesh in 1971.
Another prominent face of the Baloch struggle too added his voice to the chorus. "We welcome PM Modi's statement to support freedom movement of Balochistan. This is the first time ever that an Indian PM has expressed his wish to support the Baloch people. It is a very crucial decision," said
Hammal Haider Baloch
, representative of the
Baloch National Movement
.
“The Baloch people share common interests with India. We are secular and believe in democratic principles. Pakistan butchers Sindhi political activists and supports religious groups which are threat to the world,”
Hammal Haider
added.
PM
Modi’s warning to Pakistan had come after repeated statements from Islamabad praising terrorists operating in Kashmir. Pakistan’s politico-military establishment has been trying to make maximum mileage out of the ongoing social unrest in Kashmir, even as speculation rages at home about whether the
Pakistan Army
is gearing up to overthrow the democratically elected government in yet another coup.
PM Modi’s warning may be read as a direct threat to Islamabad, that New Delhi may be willing to repay Pakistan in kind for its hand in India’s internal affairs.
The alleged role on India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) in Balochistan is a favourite topic of discussion in prime time pulp news shows in Pakistan, and is often blamed for the troubles Islamabad faces with the region. Naela Qadri Baloch is also among the prominent activists who have categorically dismissed allegations of RAW’s involvement in Balochistan.
Balochi activists mostly focus on abductions, brutal killings and rapes of
Balochis
by Pakistan’s security forces. The Balochi ranks also feature some prominent separatist voices, calling for a separate country to be carved out of the Balochistan region in Pakistan’s southwest.
(With inputs from ANI)