Naila Quadri in India: Individuals do not represent Baloch struggle, says Brahumdagh Bugti

Quadri arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday from Kabul and announced plans to set up a government-in-exile
Naila Quadri in India: Individuals do not represent Baloch struggle, says Brahumdagh Bugti
Naila Quadri in India: Individuals do not represent Baloch struggle, says Brahumdagh Bugti
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The President of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) has said Naila Quadri does not represent the liberation struggle of the Baloch people. 

"Individuals cannot claim to speak for an entire people especially when they do not represent them," Brahumdagh Bugti told The News Minute, adding that, "I am requesting the Indian media to exercise restraint before reporting on individuals who take advantage of the situation. Just like one individual cannot speak for the BJP or the Congress Party, one person cannot speak for the Baloch people, especially without any history in our liberation movement," he added. 

Quadri arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday from Kabul and announced plans to meet Indian politicians and other leaders on behalf of the Bloch people, and stating that she wants to set up a Baloch government-in-exile in India.

"I have spoken to the political parties representing the Baloch struggle and we are coordinating our actions. We will be putting out an official statement tomorrow," said Bugti, who is the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was assassinated in Balochistan, the western province of Pakistan.

Brahumdagh Bugti himself escaped two assassination attempts while he was in Kabul, after which he made his way to Europe. The BRP is the largest political party heading the Baloch struggle for a separate Balochistan. 

The head of the BRP is in the process of seeking asylum in India and has submitted preliminary papers to the Indian Consulate in Geneva, where he currently lives with his family. The papers have been received by the Indian Home Ministry which is expected to take a final call. 

"I have been coming to the UNHRC for a decade and never have I seen the Baloch cause receiving so much attention," Mehran Marri, who is the point person for the Baloch cause in the UNHRC and chief negotiator with the European Union (EU) told TNM recently. "We fear Pakistan will step up its activities against the Baloch people and will not stop at anything including supporting acts of terror in the region," he added. 

It may be recalled that the Baloch movement to seek a separate state gained momentum after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of human rights violations in the province in August 2016. This was followed up by New Delhi raising the issue once again at the United Nation's Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva and finally in New York, where India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj drew attention to the human rights violations in the region. 

All eyes are peeled on New Delhi's next move in the Baloch liberation struggle. 

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