Pakistan separatists demand Scots-style vote

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Pakistan separatists demand Scots-style vote
Baluchistan's roughly 7 million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

QUETTA, Pakistan – Baluch separatist leaders on Friday, September 19, called on Pakistan to follow in Britain’s footsteps by holding a referendum similar to Scotland’s on granting independence to the insurgency-wracked province.

Scots rejected independence in a vote that left the centuries-old United Kingdom intact despite a surge in nationalist support in the final fortnight of the campaign.

Asked whether a similar poll should be held in Baluchistan, Dr Bashir Azeem, secretary general of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party, told Agence France-Presse: “The Baluch have been struggling against the excesses and tyranny of Punjab-dominated establishment of Pakistan for decades.”

Punjab is Pakistan’s most populous and influential province.

“If a fair referendum is conducted after creating an atmosphere for it, providing the opportunity to Baluch population for deciding their future, it is welcomed,” he added.

Resource-rich Baluchistan is the largest of Pakistan’s 4 provinces, but its roughly 7 million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

Rebels began their 5th insurgency against the state in 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

But rights groups allege security forces are also responsible for picking up non-militant separatists, including academics and students, torturing them and dumping their bodies on the streets.

The current insurgency gained in intensity after the 2006 killing of 79-year-old Baluch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a revered figure for many rebels.

Azeem’s son Jamil Akbar Bugti said: “I stand for a free and fair referendum in Baluchistan under the United Nations.

“Let Baluch people who are struggling for their independence decide their future whether they want to stay with (the) federation of Pakistan or break away.”

The desperately poor province is also riven by sectarian strife and Islamist violence in its northern Pashtun belt, with middle-class Baluch increasingly viewing independence as their only hope for a more liberal and secular state.

Pakistan accuses neighboring India of funding and arming the rebels – a charge analysts believe is true and payback for Pakistan’s interference in Kashmir. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!