Pak Defence Min slammed for blaming Afghanistan over Balochistan unrest

Quetta, June 18: Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), on Thursday slammed Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for blaming Afghanistan for terrorism, stressing that such accusations reflect an admission of the failure of Islamabad’s own policies.
The criticism came after Asif had accused Afghanistan of being the principal source of terrorism and linking it to insecurity in Pakistan’s provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Taking to his social media platform X, Naseem alleged that such a statement by the Pakistani government is nothing more than an attempt to spread propaganda against the indigenous national movement of Balochistan. “Everyone knows that, at various times, Pakistan’s rulers have blamed India, Afghanistan, the United States, Russia, and Iran for supporting the Baloch struggle, just in an effort to justify their occupation of Balochistan and conceal their own failures. In reality, such accusations are an admission of the failure of their own policies,” Naseem stated.
“We have repeatedly made it clear that this is a national liberation struggle being waged for the restoration of freedom of Balochistan. This struggle will continue until it reaches its ultimate objective,” he added.
Naseem said that Asif should recognise that Pakistan represents an “occupying state” and that neither its power nor its claims can override the legitimate national rights of the Baloch people. (IANS)