ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister Rehman Malik has blamed India for fomenting unrest in Balochistan and helping separatists in the province.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said the role of India in the unrest in Balochistan “is not a hidden story”.

He urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take serious notice of conspiracies being hatched against Pakistan and take all necessary steps against elements behind them.

The former minister, who belongs to the PPP, said that Baloch separatist leader Brahmadagh Bugti was enjoying complete support of Indian agencies for disturbing peace in Balochistan.

He said during the tenure of the previous PPP government he had given a five-hour-long briefing to the Senate on Balochistan in which he had provided proof of Brahmadagh’s links with Indian agencies. The Senate was informed about bank transactions and his frequent visits to India, he added.

Asked why the PPP government had not taken any action on his report, he said: “We had taken up the matter with former Indian home minister Chidambaram and he had assured us that they would take notice of it, but later the five-year term of our government ended and we could not pursue the matter.”

He said he had written an open letter to the nation unveiling an international conspiracy to split Pakistan. He quoted an American analyst, Webster Tarpley, who exposed a plan of the West to divide Pakistan into three to four states.

Mr Rehman also referred to some speeches of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially those he delivered in Bangladesh and on the occasion of India’s independence day, and said Mr Modi was fanning the flames of fire in Balochistan. “I strongly condemn these statements of PM Modi who is not respecting the people of Pakistan but praising known anti-Pakistan elements aiming to ignite violence in Balochistan,” he added.

He said the arrest of an Indian spy in Balochistan on March 3 clearly proved the nefarious activities of India in the province.

The former interior minister also criticised policies of the United States towards Pakistan and said that the joint declaration signed between India and the US in September last year and June this year were attempts to pressurise Pakistan.

“The most recent agreement between the US and India namely Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement is another move which shows discrimination towards Pakistan. It proves that the US prefers India over Pakistan while as a matter of fact the sacrifices of Pakistan in the US-led war on terror are more than any other country,” he added.

Talking about the role of Afghanistan in Balochistan, he said Indian spy agency RAW and Afghan intelligence agency NDS were creating instability in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

“I feel that an East Pakistan-like situation is being created in Balochistan as the role of Mukti Bahini is being played by India in collaboration with Afghanistan and duly backed by the West,” he said.

He said the Taliban wanted to destabilise Pakistan and create five different states in Fata. However, he said, the Pakistan Army had foiled the move.

Later, responding to a question about recent statements of Altaf Hussain, founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, against Pakistan, Mr Malik said these statements were given at the behest of India. “A stern action must be taken against those who talk against Pakistan,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2016