American duplicity

In an attempt to keep Pakistan onside, the United States government has stated that it does not support independence for Balochistan. This is a clear attempt by Washington to distance itself from India’s effort to stir an international controversy over Balochistan. “The US government respects the unity and territorial integrity of Pakistan, and we do not support independence for Balochistan,” said a State Department official. But the official also expressed US concerns about the human rights violations in the province where Pakistan is fighting a major insurgency by both separatists and religious extremists. During his Independence Day address, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought up Balochistan to corner Pakistan on human rights violations in its own backyard. The Prime Minister had earlier vowed to take up atrocities by the Pakistani government in these areas on international forums at an all all-party meet on the current unrest in the Kashmir Valley. Since then Modi has received numerous messages across social media forums from Baloch groups and Kashmiris around the world and in Pakistan thanking him for his words of encouragement. America’s decision to placate Pakistan is probably based on its misfiring strategy for stability in Afghanistan, which hinges on Pakistan’s cooperation. In the past decade, American officials have sought to pressure Pakistan into denying safe havens for insurgent groups involved in destabilising Afghanistan, especially the Taliban and its brutal offshoot, the Haqqani network. But that has not created the requisite incentive for Pakistan to give up its terror apparatus, since it has received military and economic support from China. Washington’s decision to admonish the Pakistani establishment over human rights violations probably stems for this discomfort. However, the irony of the US admonishing Pakistan for human rights violations is not lost on anyone. American drones have rained bombs in the region, killing thousands of civilians.