A Baloch woman leader and Human Rights activist, Naela Quadri, has accused Pakistan of “genocide” in Balochistan and asked India to support the “freedom movement” in the restive province. She has also quashed Pakistan’s allegation of arresting an Indian Spy named Kulbhooshan Jadhav.
She said that Kulbushan Jhadav, who was arrested by Pakistan on charges of being an Indian spy, is not one because there is no Indian involvement in the restive western province of Balochistan.
These are all false claims by Pakistan. All lies.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Quadri asserted that Pakistan was engaging in such “blatant lies” to “delegitimize Balochistan’s independence movement” and corner India.
Jadhav, a former Indian navy officer, was arrested in March in Balochistan. Pakistan has alleged that he still serves in the Indian navy and carried a fake Iranian passport to enter the region to launch “subversive activities” in Balochistan that is seeking independence from Islamabad’s rule.
Pakistani envoy in India Abdul Basit in the first week of April claimed that Jadhav’s alleged confession recorded in a video “irrefutably corroborates what Pakistan has been saying all along” that India was stirring unrest and destabilising his country.
But Quadri said “freedom” fighters in her region have been receiving no assistance from India.
We don’t know where Jhadav was arrested from. We have seen no Indian involvement. We don’t see them.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Independent Balochistan is Antidote for Pak-China Anti-India Coalition
Quadri said that she has come to India to make a “conscience awakening call” to the government and people of India who helped liberate East Pakistan from Islamabad in 1971 and helped it become an independent Bangladesh.
It is not only for us. An independent Balochistan is the only antidote for Pakistan-China anti-India coalition.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Quadri is a Harvard graduate and a champion of Baloch rights. The Balochistan Independence Movement leader made a passionate plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to get involved in the “freedom movement” of the sprawling western region which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
India has to take a stand, not only against gross human rights violations in the neighbourhood but also because its strategic interests are involved.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Quadri, who also heads the World Baloch Women’s Forum and campaigns for Baloch people’s rights worldwide was once jailed in Pakistan.
Pakistan Resorting to Genocide in Balochistan, Says Quadri
Quadri has accused Pakistan of resorting to “genocide” in Balochistan in response to the “political, democratic and secular” freedom struggle.
They (Pakistan) have killed some 200,000 Balochs in the last decade. The Pakistan Army has participated in enforced disappearance of 25,000 people including men and women. They are using all the eight UN indicators of genocide including dehumanization, polarization, extermination and denial.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Recalling 28 May 1998, when Pakistan conducted the nuclear tests, Quadri said the army “illegally” used Balochistan for testing its atomic weapons that it got from China.
They have hidden the weapons in Balochistan. The Balochs are facing all this in isolation and loneliness. No country has come to our help. Not India, so far.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Quadri said she hoped that Indian Prime Minister Modi would come off “as strong as Indira Gandhi” to help Balochistan win its freedom.
Modi has a popular mandate and I am sure Indian people would support the Balochistan initiative.Naela Quadri, Baloch Leader
Pakistan has been accusing India of stoking trouble in Balochistan, which is the size of France and is rich in gas, gold and copper reserves. It is also home to massive untapped sources of oil and uranium.
Angry over Pakistan’s exploitation of the resources and alleged repressive rule, Balochs have so far launched five armed insurgencies since the territory, a princely state under the British, was annexed by Islamabad in 1948.
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