ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has severely criticised and condemned a move by three US lawmakers of tabling a resolution in the House of representative which said the Baloch nation has a historic right of self determination.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday termed the resolution ill-informed and expressed the hope that it would not be accepted.

“This is a self-serving attempt on the part of those who are driven by arrogance and ignorance. The bill shows utter disrespect for international norms and practices,” foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement.

The resolution moved by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, said the Baloch people “have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country; and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status.”

It also noted that in Pakistan, the Baloch people are subjected to violence and extrajudicial killing.

Congressman Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, and Steve King, an Iowa Republican, have also signed on as original co-sponsors of the bill.

Republican Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He created uproar in Pakistan last week when he held the first-ever exclusive hearing on human rights violations in Balochistan.

Pakistan had earlier called the hearing interference in its internal affairs while Baloch nationalists welcomed it as a much-needed move which they said could relieve their sufferings and ultimately lead to their freedom.

The US State Department, however, distanced itself from the hearing, saying that it recognised Balochistan as part of the Pakistani state.