LONDON/WASHINGTON: Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s close aide and Bhartiya Janata Party’s New Delhi spokesperson has eerie links to the expensive advertisements that sprung up in two major international cities across the world to malign Pakistan, reported a private media outlet.
The so-called ‘Free Balochistan campaign’ adverts appeared one after another in London and then New York bearing similar language, content and graphics on billboards and messages splashed across taxicabs. The malicious campaign, apparently, started off in New Delhi, where a group led by Modi’s aide Tajindra Pal Singh Bagga defaced walls around the Pakistan High Commission and pasted posters demanding an end to the alleged human rights violations in Balochistan. Around that time, Tajindra Bagga was appointed as spokesperson of the ruling BJP in New Delhi.
Bagga denied having any contacts with Baloch separatists or separatist organisation in this regard while also boasting that he has been campaigning for the last five years and held a seminar on Balochistan as well.
The campaign on London streets and its transport network was rolled out by the World Baloch Organisation. The WBO’s Bahawal Mengal, nephew of Baloch nationalist leaders Mehran Marri and Akhtar Mengal, and son of Javed Akhtar Mengal, has publicly owned the international advertisements stating that he was doing so to highlight the “case of Balochistan”.
When the Transport for London (TfL) suspended some of the advertisements after a strong protest from Pakistani authorities, the WBO and Bahawal Mengal issued several statements and condemned the TfL for overturning the campaign. He also announced that he was funding and publicising the campaign in New York.
Massive billboards at the New York’s Times Square and advertisements on local transport vehicles sprung up towards the end of December. The Pakistan Embassy officials were expecting this campaign, and they said they had notified the State authorities in advance but were helpless to respond effectively.
After enormous haggling from the Pakistani side, the UK Foreign Office and TfL ordered the removal of the advertisements, but the Pakistani officials could not convince the Americans to stop the ads. The US laws strongly believe in the freedom to voice your concerns, and it works like a charm if the said concern is paid to be displayed as an advertisement.
Mehran Marri, who was recently denied entry in Switzerland, has denied having any links with this campaign and sources close to Akhtar Mengal have said that the Baloch politician has nothing to do with these activities.
This Indian campaign against Pakistan has back fired in UK and US and India is being isolated by her cheap tactics.
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