Swiss authorities on Wednesday rejected political asylum for Brahumdagh Bugti, the exiled leader of the banned Baloch Republican Party (BRP), after more than seven years.
Brahumdagh Bugti, the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, took to Twitter to inform of the development. “After more than seven years of waiting Switzerland has now rejected my application for political asylum,” he tweeted.
The application of the outlawed BRP leader had earlier also been turned down by the Switzerland immigration authorities. Bugti was, however, informed at the start of this year that his case “remains in the process” and “no time frame can be given.”
It was also reported that Bugti had, on September 19, 2016, formally asked the Indian government to grant him an asylum and Indian nationality so that he could live in India and move around the world to campaign against Pakistan. The report was later denied by India and the BRP, but, just four days later, the news turned out to be correct and Bugti officially announced that he would apply for Indian citizenship for himself and his family.
Bugti alleged that the Swiss government was under pressure to not grant him citizenship status, enabling him to attain the Swiss passport for travel.
Local media had reported that the exiled leader the banned BRP had been in touch with the Indian establishment for a long time and Narendra Modi had confirmed Pakistan’s view that India had been sponsoring violent terrorist groups in Pakistan, including Balochistan.
In another press conference, Bugti had announced that he has been given a go-ahead by his party leaders to apply for asylum in India for himself and his family.
“We have decided to formally file asylum papers to the Indian government soon. We will follow the legal process for the application,” he had told reporters in Geneva.
