Baloch leader announces formation of council

A Baloch nationalist leader announced the formation of a "council for independent Balochistan".

A leading Baloch nationalist leader has announced the formation of a “council for independent Balochistan” and rejected any reconciliation with the Pakistan government without the mediation of the European Union and the United Nations.

Mir Suleman Dawood,the head of the erstwhile ruling family of the former princely state of Kalat which is now part of Balochistan province,told reporters on phone from London on Tuesday that the council will “ensure the creation of an independent state of Balochistan”.

He said the “Baloch had lost trust in Pakistani rulers”. However,if the European Union and the UN mediated,negotiations could be held with the Pakistan government,he said.

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Baloch separatist forces of Pakistan and Iran will have representation in the council for independent Balochistan,Dawood claimed. He said the names of members of the council will be announced later.

Nawabzada Baramdagh Bugti,another leading Baloch nationalist leader from the Bugti clan,will be a member of the council.

Dawood said he was in touch with Bugti and other forces which stood for an independent Balochistan.

Recommendations made by the Kalat jirga had not been shelved and a lot of progress had been made on them as the issue of Balochistan had been raised at the international level,Dawood said.

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Dawood claimed he was “enjoying the support of friendly and like-minded countries who had promised all help and cooperation”.

The state of Kalat,formed in 1638,acceded to Pakistan in March 1948. It was later made part of Balochistan.

However,Dawood claimed the Baloch observed their Independence Day on August 11 because the British had accepted the “independent and autonomous status” of the Kalat state on that day in 1947.

Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinna negotiated Kalat’s accession to Pakistan but this was rejected by the Kalat state assembly,Dawood claimed.

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Meanwhile,the Khuzdar Engineering University in Balochistan was closed for an indefinite period after a group of students belonging to the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad entered the campus and tried to hoist the flag of “independent Balochistan”.

Law enforcement personnel did not allow them to remove the national flag and arrested a number of students. After the incident,the administration on Tuesday announced the closure of the university.