Balochistan isn’t Kashmir, India!

• Protesters torch Indian flags, burn effigies of Indian PM Modi and Baloch militant leader Brahamdagh Bugti in Quetta, Chaman, Dalbandin, Nushki, Chaghai, Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi and other Balochistan cities
• Balochistan CM vows vengeance against RAW-funded terrorism in Balochistan, lashes out at Modi over controversial statement

Thousands of people living in Balochistan on Thursday took to the streets in various cities of the province in protest against Indian-backed terrorism and interference in the province, as Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial claim that the Baloch people had thanked him for his support of the “so-called insurgency” in the province.

“We condemn Narendra Modi’s statement on Balochistan. No one in Balochistan supports his statement. There is no comparison between the struggle for liberation in Indian-held Kashmir and the so-called Balochistan insurgency,” Zehri said addressing a moot in Quetta.

The chief minister also read a condemnation resolution against the Indian prime minister which was readily adopted by the participants of the gathering.

The Indian premier’s speech on August 15, India’s Independence Day, sparked protests across Balochistan, with a large number of tribesmen taking to streets in protest in Dera Bugti, Khuzdar, Quetta, Chaman and other parts of the province.

“People of Balochistan, Gilgit and PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) have thanked me a lot in past few days; I am grateful to them,” Modi had said.

“We didn’t ask the people to come out on streets… They are on streets themselves,” Zehri said of the protests against Modi.

“The Kashmiris are agitating for the acquisition of their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN resolutions, whereas in Balochistan there is only a small group working at the behest of the enemy-country,” Zehri said, referring to suspected Indian involvement in terror activities in the province.

“I swear on the blood of the dead, wherever these terrorists are, we will hunt them down. You can’t defeat us, we are resolute to kill each and every terrorist,” he said.

Zehri also paid rich tribute to the martyrs and their families saying, “We will not betray our martyrs”.

“The Indian government fully supports the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan,” Zehri alleged, adding, “It is deeply involved in sponsoring elements like Brahamdagh Bugti, Harbiyar Marri, Zamran Marri and Allah Nazar.”

He further alleged that separatist leader of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party (BRP) Brahamdagh Bugti was “getting funds from Indians, that’s why he supported Modi’s statement”.  “Modi’s friend is Pakistan’s traitor,” he added.

Zehri’s speech comes days after a video showing exiled Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti appreciating ‘support’ given to the Baloch people by the Indian premier began circulating on social media.

Zehri said that “100 per cent of Kashmiris are demanding their right to self-determination whereas in Balochistan not even one per cent of people support insurgency”.

“Balochistan is part of Pakistan and is run by a democratically-elected government,” the PML-N leader said, adding that “the Pak army is ours and we will not tolerate any Indian interference in our internal matters”.

“Our fathers and forefathers had made the choice to become part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. There will be lots of Modis and Brahamdaghs, but we will never tolerate terrorism, and we will never let terrorists go scot-free,” the chief minister said.

“We arrested [Indian spy] Kulbhushan Jhadav and his entire network,” Zehri said, and added that the spy admitted during the investigation that he had funded and trained lesser-privileged people and “turned them against Balochistan and Pakistan”.

The Balochistan chief minister had earlier pointed towards the involvement of Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in the August 8 bombing in Quetta.

“When the media asked how I could say that the RAW is involved, I told them that the reports I receive as the Balochistan chief minister show me RAW’s involvement,” Zehri said, adding, “My claims were proven when Brahamdagh Bugti praised Modi. I don’t think Brahamdagh should have done that.”

“We know the people sitting outside Pakistan; they have become agents of RAW and India for a few dollars. These people will make rivers of blood flow in Balochistan; they can get their own people killed for a few bucks,” Zehri said.

Referring to the Indian premier’s statement, the chief minister said, “Modi says that the movement for independence is the same in Kashmir and Balochistan. Modi, you killed Burhan Wani in Kashmir. For 35 days, there has been a curfew and people are being killed. Over here, even one per cent of your agents does not have the support of the people.”

The chief minister concluded his address by asking participants of the rally to chant slogans of Pakistan Zindabad (long live Pakistan) alongside him.

ANTI-MODI RALLIES:

Meanwhile, a large number of people took to streets on Thursday in protest against India-backed terrorism, interference in the province and concocted statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that people of Balochistan had sent him messages of thanks.

The protesters – political leaders, civil society members and citizens in large numbers – demanded the Indian prime minister apologised over his controversial remarks on Balochistan.

Anti-India rallies were taken out in various cities, including Chaman, Dalbandin, Nushki, Chaghai, Dera Murad Jamali and Sibi, where angry protesters set ablaze Indian flags and burnt effigies of Modi and Brahamdagh Bugti.

They expressed their anger on the campaign launched by the Indian premier and Baloch leader to defame Pakistan and project a tainted image of Balochistan at the international level.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers led rallies in Dera Murad Jamali and raised slogans against India. Persistent protests blocked the main highway in Balochistan.

The protest rally in Sibi was also joined by members of the Hindu community who strongly condemned the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi for creating trouble in the province.