“Baat niklegi to phir door talak jayegi.”
PM Narendra Modi at Red Fort on the 70th Independence Day of India.
This otherwise immortal line from Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh’s rendition appears to have acquired a new, dramatic relevance in the aftermath of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech. The prime minister had, just in a passing reference, spoken about the current state of affairs in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Right from the moment the ‘B’ word was uttered by Modi from the Red Fort on 15 August, the ghost of Balochistan has been travelling far and wide, causing intermittent political tremors across our western borders.
Here are just three instances that show the kind of impact the speech is seen to be making already:
First, rattled by the Indian prime minister’s rather sudden reference to atrocities in Balochistan and PoK, the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif got his skates on to send 22 parliamentarians as special envoys to as many world capitals to highlight the issue of Kashmir. “I have decided to send these parliamentarians to fight the Kashmir cause in different parts of the world”, Sharif said.
Second, not too far away from Islamabad, the political and military leadership at Quetta hustled to invite self-exiled Baloch leaders for negotiations. Extending the offer for talks, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and Pakistan’s Southern Command chief Lt. General Aamir Riaz made it clear that they would welcome the Baloch leaders if they returned home. The Dawn newspaper, which covered this development promptly, quoted Zehri as saying: “It’ll be their choice to join national politics or do politics on a nationalist basis. We will honour it if the people of Balochistan give you the mandate.”
Third, within nine days of the prime minister’s Independence Day speech, Baloch freedom fighters staged a rally, raising the Indian tri-colour in Balochistan in support of PM Modi. And, in an interview given to an Indian newspaper through E-mail, Brahumdagh Bugti, founder-leader of Baloch Republican party said that he expected India to play the same role in Baluchistan as it did in erstwhile East Pakistan.
Bugti further elaborated: “We expect India to play a role as a responsible neighbour to intervene in Balochistan and stop the genocide. We seek help from all countries but a greater responsibility lies on the shoulders of India to become the Baloch people’s voice in the international community.”
However, the Pakistani authorities were quick to slap sedition charges on three Baloch leaders— Brahumdagh Bugti, Harbiyar Marri and Banuk Karima Baloch— for backing the Indian prime minister’s supportive words. But Bugti remained undeterred. “Pakistani forces are engaged in a tsunami of human rights violations in Balochistan”, he said adding that “the Baloch people don’t want to live with Pakistan any more”.
This apart, President of Baloch Students’ Association, Karima Baloch sent Modi a Raksha Bandhan message urging the latter to be the voice of Baloch people. “Hum apni jung khud lad lenge; aap bus hamari awaaz ban jayein (We’ll fight our own war; but for God’s sake you please be our voice)”, she said in as many words.
Source From : firstpost.com
