Washington, DC [US], December 14 (ANI): Tara Chand, President of the Baloch American Congress, has strongly appealed to Bollywood actors and the Indian film industry to produce a powerful film highlighting what he described as Pakistan’s forced and undemocratic occupation of Balochistan.
In a post on X, Chand asserted that Balochistan had attained independence before being forcibly occupied by Pakistan in March 1948. He claimed that since the occupation, the Pakistani army has invaded and maintained control over Balochistan and its regions, leading to decades of conflict and repression.
Chand alleged that for decades, Balochistan’s vast natural resources, worth billions of dollars, have been systematically looted. According to him, natural gas, minerals, gold, silver, coal, as well as coastal and ocean resources have been exploited by the Pakistani military, while the Baloch people continue to live in deprivation and face oppression.
He further stated that resistance against Pakistani rule began immediately after the occupation, with the Baloch nation rising in revolt multiple times over the years. Chand noted that the largest phase of armed resistance began around the year 2000 and, according to him, continues to this day. During this prolonged struggle, he alleged that countless Baloch people have been killed and subjected to serious human rights violations.
Highlighting the current situation, Chand accused the Pakistani army of carrying out mass enforced disappearances. He claimed that political activists, lawyers, teachers, doctors, students, educated youth, and women have been abducted, and that thousands of Baloch men and women are being held in military prisons without due legal process.
Despite what he described as decades of repression, Dr Chand said the people of Balochistan remain determined to continue their struggle for freedom and their homeland. He alleged that even today, innocent Baloch individuals are kidnapped daily and coerced into surrendering, yet the movement for Baloch self-determination remains alive. (ANI)