Balochistan Republican Party leader Brahamdagh Bugti on Monday said that he will apply for political asylum in India.
“We have decided that we will formally file asylum papers to Indian Government and we will start work on it right away. Will go to Indian embassy and will follow the legal process,” said Bugti.
“I will call Indian embassy for an appointment soon,” he added.
Bugti, president of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party and the grandson of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, has been living in self-imposed exile in Switzerland since his grandfather was killed in an encounter with the Pakistani army a decade ago.
His decision to apply for asylum in India comes days after media reports showed the Pakistani government had sped up the process of obtaining Interpol’s red warrants against the Baloch separatist leader.
Bugti said he plans to tour the world with Indian documents to highlight the plight of the Baloch people. His party members had earlier pointed to the Dalai Lama using an Indian passport to campaign against China.
Bugti has been fighting for the freedom of the Baloch people and highlighting the human rights violations in the region, allegedly by the Pakistan army.
Bugti also said that the Baloch leaders have decided to file criminal cases against Pakistani army generals and China at the International Court of Justice. “Will take China to International Court of Justice with the help of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India,” said Bugti.
Bugti had lauded Modi’s reference to Balochistan as the “most powerful statement” in the last seven decades.
“It is for the first time that an Indian Prime Minister has spoken. We believe that India should have taken this step a long time ago,” he said, adding that he is convinced about Balochistan’s freedom. “I am thoroughly indebted to Prime Minister Modi … for raising the voice of Baloch people in his Independence Day address.”
Earlier there were reports that India was considering granting political asylum to Baloch activists living in exile. The reports said that a decision to this effect was taken at a high level meeting of BRP in Geneva on Sunday.
India last granted political asylum to the Dalai Lama in 1959.
