Quetta, June 18 (IANS) Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), on Thursday slammed Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for blaming Afghanistan for terrorism, stressing that such accusations reflect an admission of the failure of Islamabad's own policies.
The criticism came after Asif had accused Afghanistan of being the principal source of terrorism and linking it to insecurity in Pakistan's provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Taking to his social media platform X, Naseem alleged that such a statement by the Pakistani government is nothing more than an attempt to spread propaganda against the indigenous national movement of Balochistan.
“Everyone knows that, at various times, Pakistan’s rulers have blamed India, Afghanistan, the United States, Russia, and Iran for supporting the Baloch struggle, just in an effort to justify their occupation of Balochistan and conceal their own failures. In reality, such accusations are an admission of the failure of their own policies,” Naseem stated.
“We have repeatedly made it clear that this is a national liberation struggle being waged for the restoration of freedom of Balochistan. This struggle will continue until it reaches its ultimate objective,” he added.
Naseem said that Asif should recognise that Pakistan represents an “occupying state” and that neither its power nor its claims can override the legitimate national rights of the Baloch people. He added that such propaganda cannot undermine the indigenous Baloch national movement.
"History has repeatedly shown that national liberation movements cannot be permanently suppressed through force. Khawaja Asif should learn from the history of his ally, the United States, which itself emerged from a struggle against colonial rule. In the same way, Balochistan will continue its struggle for the restoration of its national identity and freedom and will ultimately achieve its rightful destination,” he concluded.
On Wednesday, expressing grave concern over the “secretive and prolonged” trials of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, Naseem said that the proceedings expose the true nature of the Pakistani authorities' treatment of the people of Balochistan.
“When court proceedings are hidden from public scrutiny and conducted through remote links after more than a year of detention, it raises serious questions. For decades, Baloch people have witnessed enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and politically motivated prosecutions. Today no one trusts in Pakistan’s courts and state institutions,” the BNM chairperson posted on X.
“Open and transparent trials are not privileges; they are basic constitutional and legal safeguards which BYC demands. The continued targeting of peaceful political activists and human rights defenders demonstrates a pattern of aggression aimed at silencing the Baloch voices,” he added.
--IANS
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