India's assertion on Balochistan, PoK has put Pak on back foot: Uday Bhaskar

New Delhi, Aug 23 (ANI): Defence Expert Commodore (Retd.) C. Uday Bhaskar on Tuesday cornered Pakistan for booking Baloch leaders-in-exile for siding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said Islamabad is now on the back foot as the global community is becoming aware of the atrocities that have been committed in Balochistan. Commodore (Retd.) Bhaskar told ANI that Pakistan's next step would be to use the offices of organisation of Islamic countries to try and draw attention towards Kashmir. "Clearly, Pakistan I think is trying to draw attention to what they thought would be a trump card namely to draw international attention to developments in Kashmir particularly the kind of protest and turbulence that we have seen after the killing of Burhan Wani by the Indian security forces," Commodore (Retd.) Bhaskar said. "Now, this is a political reality that the Indian Government is addressing in its own way and as in the past Pakistan has tried to derive maximum benefit in the International arena based on this development. And I think in the manner in which India has now drawn attention to Balochistan and to Pakistan occupied Kashmir has put Pakistan on the back foot because for the first time we are seeing that the global community is becoming aware of the atrocities that have been committed in Balochistan," he added. Commodore (Retd.) Bhaskar said Pakistan has now compelled India, which was aware of it in the past but had chosen not to use this particular option, to take this particular path. "I think the reaction of the Pakistani Government and strategy that they will adopt is in a way predictable. And the next step we will see is that they will try and use offices of the organisation of Islamic countries to try and draw attention towards Kashmir," he added. The defence expert further said the police case registered against the Baloch leaders by the Pakistani Government is at one level predictable. "The fact that these leaders in exile had welcomed and supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi's observations about the denial of basic political rights and the deplorable human rights condition of the citizen of Balochistan is something that has clearly irked the Pakistani Government and hence they have filed this particular non-bailable warrant against these Baloch leaders," Commodore (Retd.) Bhaskar said. "And in many ways what this will do is only to reiterate the point being made by India namely the Baloch are being treated as less than second class citizens in their own country and that this is something that has to be addressed and redressed by the Pakistani Government," he added. Five cases, including that of sedition, have been registered against three top Baloch nationalist leaders in Pakistan for allegedly backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supportive words on Balochistan in his August 15 Independence Day address. As per reports, Brahamdagh Bugti, Harbiyar Marri and Banuk Karima Baloch were booked under Sections 120, 121, 123 and 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code at five police stations in the Khuzdar area in the restive province following complaints lodged against them. On India's Independence Day, Prime Minister Modi had said that the people from areas like Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Balochistan have thanked him for flagging the human rights abuses of their people by Pakistan's security forces. The Prime Minister's comments were criticised as "crossing a red line" by the Pakistan Government, a charge New Delhi rejected. (ANI)