NEW YORK - Balochistan representatives have deplored the attempts to project people of Balochistan as anti-Pakistan and said Baloch were loyal to the country. “Balochistan was, is and will remain a part of Pakistan forever.”
Thousands of Pakistani-Americans gathered on Sunday for the annual Pakistan Independence Day Parade in New York, with a representative delegation from Balochistan giving an uplifting message to the cheering crowd: the Army has broken the back of the insurgency and peace has returned to the province.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, led the tributes to the 28-member Baloch delegation, which is composed of elected members from all parts of the province, for their presence in the parade. She also congratulated her compatriots in New York and surrounding regions for turning up in such large numbers, especially women and children.
The afternoon’s heat did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants who raised vociferous “Pakistan Zinda Bad” slogans to demonstrate their dedication to the country and its founding father— Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Balochistan’s Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti said the Pakistan Army and the civilian government were on the same page in their push to eliminate the insurgents who were now on the run. “We, the people of Pakistan, are united,” he told the crowd chanting “Pak Fauj Zinda Bad.”