Mohammad Jamil
Pakistan has strongly protested with Swiss government over posters titled ‘Free Balochistan’ published by a Swiss advertising agency and put up by an organization named Balochistan House, which is linked with Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). In a letter to Swiss permanent representative in United Nations, Pakistan’s permanent representative in UN has raised the issue and called it disrespectful and a direct attack on sovereignty of Pakistan. Maleeha Lodhi wrote in the letter: “Pakistan has serious apprehensions on these posters and it is rather surprising to be put up in neutral country like Switzerland, which is totally unacceptable.” She urged the Swiss government to take immediate action, as BLA has been declared a terrorist organization by Pakistan.
Switzerland has strict laws for asylum seekers; and as a rule asylum seekers whose application has been rejected must return to their country of origin. But since not all asylum seekers can return to their home country, they are issued a provisional residence permit, called an F permit. The F permit entails a great number of restrictions for its holder, which means that the affected persons sometimes have to live for years in an arrangement that is meant to be only temporary in nature. Right to travel is restricted for holders of provisional residence permits. An F permit entails numerous problems which render integration in Switzerland very difficult. The chief of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party (BRP) had sought asylum in Switzerland on February 2, 2011 following the death of Baloch chieftains Nawab Akbar Bugti and Balach Marri.
Swiss authorities do not give asylum to those having links with the organizations involved in killings, unlawful and terrorist acts. It was in this backdrop that Swiss authorities had refused asylum to Brahamdagh Bugti earlier. In January 2016 also they rejected his application for asylum, and Home Secretary Balochistan Akbar Hussain Durrani had said: “We are satisfied that the Swiss authorities accepted our stance over Baloch insurgency in Pakistan.” In September 2016, leader of the Baloch Republican Party, Brahamdagh Khan Bugti said that Pakistan was trying to create international pressure by issuing a Red notice against him, and sought India’s intervention to ensure safety for himself and his companions. In an interview with Indian newspaper “The Hindu” Brahamdagh Bugti desired to seek an official Indian ID and travel documents.
At present he is staying in Switzerland without official authorization from the Swiss government.
He also claims that the Swiss government, that declined his application for an official ID in January 2016 on grounds that his party is on the terror watch list. “Short of physically preventing me, the Swiss are doing everything to create circumstances that have turned me into an open-air prisoner. I hope that the Indian people, who gave refuge to Dalai Lama and supported Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, would recognize the risk that I am facing,” he said. Terrorists linked with BLA and other banned religious outfits have been carrying out attacks on personnel of law enforcement agencies and civilians in Balochistan. Pakistan has time and again blamed India for funding Baloch and religious terrorist organisation for creating unrest in the mineral-rich Balochistan.
These claims have been backed by reports from several senior US and other Western officials who have accused India of funding terrorists to destabilise Pakistan. A confirmation of this allegation came from former US defence Secretary Senator Chuck Hagel who in a video suggested that “India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan using Afghan soil.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on India’s National Day on August 15, 2016, had said: “The time has come when Pakistan shall have to answer to the world for the atrocities committed by it against people in Balochistan.” Brahamdagh Bugti had then said: “I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the whole Baloch nation. And we hope that the Indian government and Indian media and the whole Indian nation will not only raise voice for the Baloch nation but also strive to help practically the Baloch independence movement.”
India’s hawkish National Security Advisor AK Doval had almost issued a threat to Pakistan when he said that India’s troublesome neighbour could lose Balochistan if there was a repeat of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. It is pertinent to mention here that the Baloch separatist leaders mostly visit New Delhi and Kabul where they are hosted and taken care of. Pakistan has time and again raised the issue of India funding terrorists ensconced in Kunar and Nooristan for attacks in Pakistan. If Switzerland, England and the US continue pampering and providing safe havens to the members of banned organizations, they may become victims of those elements.
