December 27, 2005 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Forget realpolitik (for a moment). If the human rights tragedy in Balochistan escaped international attention so far, it is largely because it was ignored by India and the United States. It appears that the policy makers in New Delhi finally realised the absurdity of having to listen to Pakistani proposals on self-governance for Kashmir, even as Musharraf’s army uses heavy artillery, tanks, helicopter gunships and jet fighters to silence calls for the same by its Baloch people.
‘‘The government of India has been watching with concern the spiralling violence in Balochistan and heavy military action, including use of helicopter gunships and jet fighters by the government of Pakistan to quell it,’’ MEA spokesperson said responding to a question. ‘‘We hope the government of Pakistan will exercise restraint and take recourse to peaceful discussions to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan.’’ [IE]
The Pakistani foreign office rejected India’s comment, using that amazing word the use of which it has elevated to a fine art: baseless. As usual this is wrong. Even if it is argued that India has no business interfering in Pakistan’s internal matters, surely that business of the gas pipeline gives India sufficient cause to be alarmed.
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