QUETTA - Supporting the US Congress resolution on Balochistan, Baloch Republican Party (BRP) President Nawabzada Brahmdagh Bugti on Wednesday sought the United States and Nato intervention to stop the ‘genocide’ of the Baloch people, saying sheer violation of human rights were being committed in the province.
“The US resolution and the committee formed on Balochistan are not against the sovereignty of Pakistan. Every country has the right to interfere or intervene in another’s affairs if there are state-sponsored human rights violations,” he maintained. He expressed these views while addressing a telephonic news conference from Geneva at the Quetta Press Club.Brahmdagh, who opted to live in a self-exile after the assassination of his grandfather Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in 2006, said the military operation which started in 2005 was going on unabated. “We are receiving decomposed dead bodies of our professors, doctors, writers and politicians, while thousands of Baloch youth have been abducted,” he stated.
“Pakistani rulers are misleading the people and drone strikes are an example,” he added.
To a query, Brahamdagh promised to share news about the formation of a single united party to represent the Baloch people, saying it was a dream of late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
He questioned why the media persons and human rights activists were denied access to Dera Bugti, Kohlu and other areas given the state had been claiming that the situation was normal in Balochistan.
The nationalist leader said Balochistan had always been ignored and the natives were being subjected to injustices and atrocities, but media and political leaders were now talking about the province after a resolution was tabled in the US Congress.
“We have been receiving bullet-riddled bodies and our people are being subjected to torture, but the national media neglected these brutalities,” he added.
He said the politicians like Nawaz Sharif were inquiring about the plight of Baloch people because they now worried about the sovereignty of Punjab and wanted to protect its interests.
Brahmdagh urged Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi and Chief Minister Aslam Raisani to abandon their ‘temporary’ and ‘personal’ interests and join the national movement, saying they would not achieve anything but humiliation for supporting the Pakistani government. “If they do not want to join the movement, they should resign from the office and enjoy a quiet life, because the Baloch movement is about to reach the goal,” he added.
About the All-Parties Conferences (APCs) announced by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), Brahmdagh said the Baloch nationalist leaders would not join negotiations. “On one hand, they are convening the APCs, while on the other, they are brutally killing Baloch people and throwing their bullet-riddled mutilated bodies,” he said.
Describing the Balochistan package as an attempt to sabotage the Baloch, he said they would never be part of the Pakistani federation.
Referring to the US Congress resolution which called for self-determination of Baloch population living in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the BRP leader said they had no contacts with the Balochs in Iran and Afghanistan. “First of all we should get rid of atrocities meted out to us by Pakistan,” he remarked.
To a query, he said the Pakhtun brothers had a choice to join Khyber Pk or Balochistan.
When asked whether Balochs could sustain their freedom in case of separating from Pakistan, Bugti’s response was in affirmation and cited the example for Bangladesh (former East Pakistan).
The state assassinated Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Balach Marri, Ghulam Muhammad, Sher Muhammad and Lala Munir to end the Baloch struggle, but failed to achieve their objective.
When asked about the recent killing of his sister and niece in Karachi,
Brahamdagh said these brutalities would not compel him to quit the movement.
Answering a query regarding the threat of jihad in case of the US intervention in Balochistan, he said there was no influence of jihadi elements in the province; however, the agencies could use them as a tool to exert pressure on the West.
To a question about foreign backing, Brahamdagh said they would welcome any support from the US and India, but, unfortunately, no one was supporting them, which would have brought the Baloch people closer to success.