WASHINGTON: The US State Department has assured Pakistan that it does not support the demand for an independent Balochistan, as it respects the country’s unity and territorial integrity.

“The US government respects the unity and territorial integrity of Pakistan, and we do not support independence for Balochistan,” says a policy statement the US State Department shared with Dawn.

Elaborating the US position on the matter, a State Department official said: “We have consistently urged all parties in Pakistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a valid political process.”

The statement followed two seminars that Baloch nationalists in Washington held at Carnegie Endowment and Capitol Hall this week, urging the US administration and lawmakers to support their struggle.

In their speeches, Baloch activists pointed out “gross human rights violations, including disappearances, torture and political suppression” that they alleged the Pakistani government was carrying out in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2016