Quetta, June 2: Leading Baloch human rights defender Mir Yar Baloch has written to Kaja Kallas, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, expressing grave concern over designating Pakistan as a partner in counter-terrorism despite longstanding allegations of Islamabad’s links to proxy networks, support for militancy and extremist groups.
His remarks follow the Joint Communique issued after the Eighth Pakistan-EU Strategic Dialogue held in Islamabad on Monday. In his letter addressed to Kallas, the Baloch activist said that while the communique identified cooperation against terrorism as an important component of relations between Pakistan and the EU, this policy is “highly dangerous and detached from reality” given Islamabad’s role in sheltering terror groups.
“Designating a state as a partner against terrorism despite decades of undeniable evidence linking it to proxy policies, support for militancy, and connections with extremist networks across different regions is a contradiction that cannot be ignored,” Mir stated. He further said that Europe currently faces the threats of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism, adding that the historical origin of such threats can be traced to Pakistan.
Accusing the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of nurturing, training, and supporting these religious extremists, Mir said, “Rather than conducting a serious examination of this reality, designating the very same centres of power as partners in counter-terrorism is a strategy that complicates the problem instead of resolving it. In short, it is akin to entrusting a thief with the responsibility of eliminating theft.”
He said that instead of relying solely on Islamabad’s “false and one-sided narrative”, the international community should recall that the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was found living in Pakistan’s Abbottabad. “This historical event exposed to the world the gap between Pakistan’s official narrative and the realities on the ground,” the Baloch activist noted. Mir highlighted that if the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status granted to Pakistan by the EU is linked to respect for human rights, then an independent, impartial, and international investigation into the gross human rights situation by Pakistani forces in Balochistan should be initiated immediately. He called on the EU, the United Nations, human rights organisations, international media, and independent observers to visit Balochistan to assess the situation on the ground rather than relying solely on Pakistan’s “official one-sided narrative”.
“Let them meet the affected Baloch families. Let them hear the voices of the victims of enforced disappearances. Let them visit the areas where local populations are engaged in a peaceful struggle to protect their resources, lands, and fundamental rights of independence,” Mir stated. He stressed that if the EU is truly a champion of “human dignity, justice, freedom, and a rules-based international order”, then it must apply the same principles to Balochistan as it does in other global conflicts.
IANS
