Prof Naela Quadri, president, World Baloch Women’s Forum, has urged India to support Balochistan in its struggle for independence and not mix the Kashmir issue with Baloch. She subtly hinted that Balochistan would help India open a trade route to Central Asia as well as stop Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Prof Quadri, who is in Mumbai for the past four days, interacted with media persons on Tuesday and expressed delight at the warmth received from the people of Mumbai and the Balochs settled in Mumbai with the words, “Jai Maharashtra”. More than 500 Baloch families stay in Mumbai and more than 8 lakh such families stay in India, she said.
Prof Quadri has a Canadian passport and is travelling across the world to get support for the independence movement. “Baloch issue is not related with atrocities on women or violation of human rights. It’s an issue of independence. Pakistan does not accept Balochis as citizens and we do not want to become its citizens as we have been independent for the past thousands of years,” she said.
“Pakistan uses chemical weapons, it kills our women and children and even kidnap them. The Pakistani Army trades in human organs and steals kidneys, the liver and other organs,” she alleged. Prof Quadri claimed that atrocities against the Baloch had increased since China entered the equation.
Praising PM Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for raising the issue of Baloch’s struggle for independence, Prof Quadri said that the earlier Congress-NCP government disappointed them. “Baloch has a huge coast, which will help India in its trade with Central Asia. Once India supports the government in exile, we will have our own government and Pakistan will not be able to use our soil for terror, which is a headache for India,” she said.
