Quetta, Feb 24 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) strongly condemned Pakistan’s attacks on Afghanistan, calling them a direct assault on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and freedom of the Afghan nation, deliberately targeting unarmed civilians.
The remarks followed Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence statement on Sunday, after Pakistan carried out deadly airstrikes in various residential areas of the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, resulting in the death of several civilians.
According to the Ministry, the strikes targeted a madrasa and multiple residential homes, killing and injuring “dozens of civilians”, including women and children.
Expressing solidarity with the affected Afghan families, the BNM reaffirmed support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and its right to self-defence.
It stated that “for the past 79 years, the primary cause of instability in the region has been the policies of the State of Pakistan, which are driven by both its overt and covert expansionist ambitions.”
The rights group added that, shortly after its creation, Pakistan occupied Balochistan, stripping the region of its sovereignty and freedoms and keeping it subjugated under a “dominant Punjabi regime”. He argued that “oppressed nations” under Pakistan are struggling for their “national survival”.
“The world can see that Pakistan has become politically and socially fragmented, and these very conditions have become a source of crisis for the state itself,” it noted.
Despite Pakistani military repression and violence against political forces, the BNM said, Pakistan has consistently failed to resolve its internal issues.
“Instead, it seeks to deflect responsibility for its failures onto neighbouring countries, thereby fueling instability and a war-like atmosphere in the region,” the Baloch group stated.
It warned that Pakistan’s military power poses a clear threat not only regionally but beyond. To address this situation, it emphasised that “unity and the formation of a joint front among the nations of the region are essential”.
–IANS
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