US, UK and France join hands to shoot down nefarious bid of Pakistan and China to sanction the Balochistan Liberation Army at the United Nations
The United States, France and the United Kingdom have blocked a joint Pakistan-China bid to list the Majeed Brigade and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) under the United Nations (UN) 1267 sanctions regime. They have placed the listing on “technical hold” for six months, citing a lack of evidence linking the two Baloch groups to Al-Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). The development transpired more than a month after Washington, in the midst of its newfound bonhomie with Islamabad, designated both organisations as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. The UN Security Council Resolution 1267 of 1999 also known as the “UN 1267 regime,” places restrictions on people or organisations associated with Al-Qaida, the Taliban and ISIL, including travel prohibitions, asset freezes and arms sanctions. China and Pakistan applied to the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on the BLA and its Majeed Brigade. ISIL-K (Khorasan), Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the BLA and its Majeed Brigade are among the terrorist organisations active and initiating cross-border assaults from Afghanistan, according to Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed who is Islamabad’s Permanent Representative to the UN, on 17th September. He added that his country’s biggest national security danger continues to be terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and encouraged the Taliban-led Afghan government to adhere to its promises regarding international counterterrorism. “We hope the Council will act swiftly on this listing to curb their terrorist activities,” he further stated. Nonetheless, the terror state’s expectations have been thwarted by its Western ally for a minimum of the next few months. Pakistan’s Baloch problem Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province which is strategically important for the country due to its position and wealth of natural resources, particularly oil. The region has low population but its citizens live in poverty in comparison to the rest of the nation as the government continues to exploit its natural gifts for other parts especially Punjab. The province has had numerous violent insurgencies, severe state repression and a persistent Baloch nationalist movement since 1948, when former Baloch chiefdoms were compelled to join the Islamic Republic. There have been five Baloch “wars of independence” to date. However, they have been brutally suppressed by the Pakistani government which has been accused of arbitrary arrests, torture, executions, and kidnappings. On the one hand, Islamabad has been involved in severe violations of human rights in Balochistan, while on the other hand, it has made every effort to deplete the region of its resources, diverting the benefits directly to other regions while disregarding the entire area and forcing it to live in poverty and despair. The malicious scheme did not cease there as Islamabad extended an invitation to Beijing to advance the exploitation under the guise of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The 62 billion dollar project is intended to advance China’s aspirations to become the sole superpower in the area and occupy the region. It seeks to take over the Baloch Sea and reduce the local population to a minority. China believes that the CPEC will enable its troops to reach the warm water in Gwadar. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Baloch were made to leave the CPEC’s surrounding districts. Hundreds of tiny towns and villages were reduced to ashes in order to keep the population away from the alleged progress that Pakistan and China were bringing. People were driven to abandon their homes, towns, villages, property and valuables. All of this was carried out by Pakistani security personnel to protect Chinese officials and engineers involved in the project. The Baloch community has tirelessly voiced their opposition to this oppression, however, rather than addressing the atrocities, Islamabad has only intensified its violent measures to silence the protesters with brutal force. Similarly, the two “all-weather friends” are desperate to demonize the Baloch groups that are fighting for the rights and freedom of their people, on the international platform.
The United States, France and the United Kingdom have blocked a joint Pakistan-China bid to list the Majeed Brigade and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) under the United Nations (UN) 1267 sanctions regime.
They have placed the listing on “technical hold” for six months, citing a lack of evidence linking the two Baloch groups to Al-Qaeda and ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
The development transpired more than a month after Washington, in the midst of its newfound bonhomie with Islamabad, designated both organisations as Foreign Terrorist Organisations.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1267 of 1999 also known as the “UN 1267 regime,” places restrictions on people or organisations associated with Al-Qaida, the Taliban and ISIL, including travel prohibitions, asset freezes and arms sanctions.
China and Pakistan applied to the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on the BLA and its Majeed Brigade.
ISIL-K (Khorasan), Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the BLA and its Majeed Brigade are among the terrorist organisations active and initiating cross-border assaults from Afghanistan, according to Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed who is Islamabad’s Permanent Representative to the UN, on 17th September.
He added that his country’s biggest national security danger continues to be terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and encouraged the Taliban-led Afghan government to adhere to its promises regarding international counterterrorism. “We hope the Council will act swiftly on this listing to curb their terrorist activities,” he further stated.
Nonetheless, the terror state’s expectations have been thwarted by its Western ally for a minimum of the next few months.
Pakistan’s Baloch problem
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province which is strategically important for the country due to its position and wealth of natural resources, particularly oil. The region has low population but its citizens live in poverty in comparison to the rest of the nation as the government continues to exploit its natural gifts for other parts especially Punjab.
The province has had numerous violent insurgencies, severe state repression and a persistent Baloch nationalist movement since 1948, when former Baloch chiefdoms were compelled to join the Islamic Republic. There have been five Baloch “wars of independence” to date. However, they have been brutally suppressed by the Pakistani government which has been accused of arbitrary arrests, torture, executions, and kidnappings.
On the one hand, Islamabad has been involved in severe violations of human rights in Balochistan, while on the other hand, it has made every effort to deplete the region of its resources, diverting the benefits directly to other regions while disregarding the entire area and forcing it to live in poverty and despair.
The malicious scheme did not cease there as Islamabad extended an invitation to Beijing to advance the exploitation under the guise of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The 62 billion dollar project is intended to advance China’s aspirations to become the sole superpower in the area and occupy the region.
It seeks to take over the Baloch Sea and reduce the local population to a minority. China believes that the CPEC will enable its troops to reach the warm water in Gwadar. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Baloch were made to leave the CPEC’s surrounding districts. Hundreds of tiny towns and villages were reduced to ashes in order to keep the population away from the alleged progress that Pakistan and China were bringing.
People were driven to abandon their homes, towns, villages, property and valuables. All of this was carried out by Pakistani security personnel to protect Chinese officials and engineers involved in the project.
The Baloch community has tirelessly voiced their opposition to this oppression, however, rather than addressing the atrocities, Islamabad has only intensified its violent measures to silence the protesters with brutal force. Similarly, the two “all-weather friends” are desperate to demonize the Baloch groups that are fighting for the rights and freedom of their people, on the international platform.
