US, Europe should join PM Narendra Modi and hold Pakistan accountable for war crimes: Baloch leaders

In his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 70th Independence Day, PM Narendra Modi Modi talked about the situation in PoK, Gilgit and Balochistan.

Washington: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi openly came out in support of "freedom" for Balochistan, leaders of the Baloch nationalist movement on Tuesday have sought the US and Europe to hold Pakistan accountable for the crimes against humanity.

In a statement, Khalil Baloch, the chairman of the Baloch National Movement, said: "The world must understand that Pakistan's use of religious terrorism as a policy tool will have far-reaching consequences; terrorism cannot be contained but needs to be countered effectively."

"Baloch nation hopes that the United States and Europe will join Prime Minister Modi and hold Pakistan accountable for the crimes against humanity and the war crimes it has committed against the Baloch nation in 68 years of its occupation of Balochistan and during the five wars that the Baloch nation has fought with Pakistan to win its national freedom," Baloch said.

The Baloch nationalist leader welcomed Modi's stance on Balochistan, saying the "policy of indifference towards Pakistan's war crimes in occupied Balochistan that include both ethnic cleansing and genocide, adopted by the international community is worrying".

"The Indian Prime Minister's statement on Balochistan is a positive development," Baloch said.

Meanwhile, Brahumdagh Bugti, the president of the Baloch Republican Party, thanked Modi in a video statement. The grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti -- a Baloch nationalist leader who was killed in an encounter with the Pakistani Army, hoped that the Indian government, Indian media and the whole Indian nation would not only raise their voices for the Baloch nation but also strive to help practically the Baloch independence movement.

Bugti said Pakistan's destructive role in Kashmir and its direct involvement in terrorist attacks in India such as Mumbai and Pathankot has been a very well exposed fact.

"In this context, raising the voice of the Baloch people should not be a temporary reaction or short term strategy by the Indian government, but should be a sincere intention of the Indian people to support their oppressed Baloch brothers and sisters and should be very serious part of the foreign policy of the Indian government," Bugti said.

"The Baloch mission and all the oppressed people of the world, still remember the decision of the Indian government when India intervened and came to the rescue of Bengali people from Pakistani brutalities in 1970s," he said.

Pakistan demands self-determination and self-rule of Kashmiris and at the same time in Balochistan, it is crushing the same demand of Baloch people by force, he said, adding that this not only exposes the double standards of Pakistan but also their evil design to destruct the peace and stability in the region.

In a first for any Prime Minister in an August 15 address, Modi referred to human rights abuses in Balochistan and the part of Kashmir Pakistan controls yesterday.

(With PTI inputs)