ISLAMABAD: British government may take Baloch leaders living in exile in the United Kingdom to courts for fomenting separatism in Pakistan.

“We have a legislation … we may look at that legislation to take Baloch leaders to courts,” British High Commissioner to Pakistan Adam Thomson told Dawn on Tuesday.

He said that Britain would like to stop anything destabilising Pakistan. “We are not indifferent to the situation in Balochistan,” he added.

Hyarbyar Marri and a number of other Baloch leaders have been living in exile in the UK and supporting separatist groups.

The UK had last year granted asylum to Mr Marri. His application was initially rejected by the British Home Office on objections raised by Islamabad, but was later accepted.

The high commissioner said it was for Pakistan to sort out the dissidents in its territory.

He urged Pakistan to pursue a political process to resolve the Balochistan crisis and said, “military isn’t the only solution.”

The envoy said the challenge in Balochistan was not as serious as the one in tribal areas.

Responding to a question, he said Pakistan and UK did not have an extradition treaty and, therefore, it was difficult (for the latter) to transfer someone wanted here.