The Baloch activists have reached out to India to help in their struggle for their freedom from Pakistan. Expressing solidarity with India on India’s 73rd Independence Day, Baloch activist Atta Baloch wished Indians a very happy independence day. He added that Balochs are thankful to Indians for the solidarity and support in their freedom struggle. “We want them to raise their voice for a free Balochistan. We need their support. Thank you and Jai Hind,” he said.

Another Baloch activist, Ashraf Sherjan urged India to officially raise Balochistan in all forms including the UN. “The people of Balochistan are suffering genocide at the hands of Pakistan and its military establishment. Balochistan is bleeding,” he said. Appealing to India to be the voice of the voiceless, Sherjan concluded his remark by calling out loudly in Hindi, “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to mark Indian Independence Day as ‘Black Day’ and leaders including Pakistani PM Imran Khan have put up a black profile picture on social media. Pakistan leaders are upset over abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir which was followed by the bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Pakistan still hasn’t been able to come to terms with it.

However, parody nation Pakistan was put in an embarrassing situation when their own independence day on 14th August was observed as #BalochistanSolidarityDay and #14thAugustBlackDay started trending. The human rights violation in Balochistan, Pakistan have drawn concerns and criticism from international community.

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After the partition, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had negotiated the independence of Balochistan with the Britishers. Before the partition of India, Balochistan consisted of 4 Princely states, Kalat, Lasbela, Kharan and Makran. The three other princely states were beholden to Kalat in one manner or the other. The Government of Pakistan recognizes Kalat as an independent sovereign state in treaty relations with the British Government with a status different from that of Indian States.

Jinnah then had a ‘change of heart’ and decided to annex Balochistan. The Balochistan Assembly had categorically rejected even the suggestion to join the Pakistan state. However, Jinnah had other plans. It bodes well to remember that essentially, Balochistan was an independent and sovereign state that was forcefully annexed by Pakistan by the barrel of the gun. You can read OpIndia’s exclusive interview with Dr Allah Nazar Baloch of Balochistan Liberation Front here.