They said the statement did not come out of the blue and it reflected the Prime Minister’s concerns for oppressed people of Balochistan.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising the issue of human rights violations in Balochistan during his Independence Day speech can not be seen as interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs, sources here said on Wednesday. Bilawal said that Kashmir was under curfew and “many innocent Kashmiris” have been killed in the last two months.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is willing to travel to Pakistan for talks relating to fighting cross-border terrorism.
Tensions between Pakistan and India have been running high since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani sparked anti-government protests in India-held Kashmir, with over 60 people dead in clashes between protesters and Indian authorities.
To a question, he said that Indian involvement in Balochistan had been proved.
The spokesperson for the Foreign Office said that Pakistan had time and again raised the issue of Kashmir at global forums.
Encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supportive words, leaders of the Baloch nationalist movement have sought support from the U.S. and European countries against the oppressive Pakistani regime.
The response was handed over to Pakistan by Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad Gautam Bambawale. He had taken it a step further in his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort, where he thanked the people of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK for their good wishes.
Paving way for another controversy, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday compared Pakistan to “hell”.
Pakistan posed a unique challenge because of having a different view on terrorism, Jaishankar said here at an interaction with journalists.
As part of its counter-insurgency policy, Pakistan is developing and strengthening religiously-driven terrorist groups, such as the Taliban, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Khurasan, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Baloch said.
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CPI (M)’s former general secretary Prakash Karat, in an editorial in the upcoming issue of party mouthpiece “People’s Democracy”, said: “The Modi government has, instead of addressing alienation and demands of Kashmiri people, sought to convert the problem into an India-Pakistan confrontation”.
