EU MPs write to Trump on deteriorating situation in Baluchistan ahead of Pakistan PM's visit

NEW DELHI: Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have sent a letter to US President Donald Trump requesting his intervention in the deteriorating situation in Baluchistan ahead of Pakistan PM's visit to the White House on Monday.

Sixteen, cross-party, pan European MEPs signed the letter during last week’s European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France. The MEPs highlighted the dire situation for the Baluch people stating that “The people of the province have legitimate grievances – they are relatively powerless against the State trying to silence them.”
This letter is also significant in the context of recent US decision to ban Baloch Liberation Army or BLA reportedly to solicit Pak support for Trump's Afghan campaign.


The MEPs specifically highlighted that “since 1947, there have been no reports of any terrorist activities by any Baluchistan organisation. Indeed, they supported the US Army in Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism.”
The EU Parliamentarians while acknowledging that there have been reports of Baluch organisations fighting against the Pakistani government to protect their lands, their assets and their families, these cases were found to have been provoked by the Pakistani government.

The MEPs urged that the people of Baluchistan should not be labelled as terrorists. “The Baluch people believe they must fight to preserve their cultural identity, while striving for institutionalised legitimacy and recognition of their existence. They are not terrorists, and labelling them as such only amplifies the suffering of this situation.”
The European Parliamentarians were clear that their values aligned those of the United States where both parties condemn all forms of terrorism and both seek peace and stability in the Afghanistan- Pakistan region.

The Baloch Human Rights Organization and Human Rights Council of Balochistan have established that in January 2019 alone there were 77 forced disappearances and 18 extra-judicial killings and 46 cases of enforced disappearances and 17 cases of killing reported in February. Forced disappearances also include children, women, and the elderly. The Pakistani government have yet to honour any the judgment from its own courts ordering DNA analysis of “beyond recognition bodies”.