BAC's Tara Chand backs Indian strikes, calls for support to free Balochistan from Pakistan
Washington DC [US], May 9 (ANI): The President of the Baloch American Congress (BAC), Tara Chand, expressed support for India's Operation Sindoor against terrorism in Pakistan. However, he emphasised that Pakistan's harbouring of terrorists remains a significant issue.
https://x.com/drtchand/status/1920277418687836291
In a statement addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chand said, 'Dear Prime Minister Modi Ji, I want to express my support for the recent actions taken against terrorism by entering Pakistan. However, it is important to acknowledge that Pakistan has harboured many such terrorists.'
Chand highlighted the situation in Balochistan and affirmed, 'Until the situation in Balochistan, which is crucial to Pakistan's stability, is addressed, Pakistan will continue to pose challenges for India. It is time to consider a strategic approach to the freedom of Balochistan, similar to how Gandhi played a pivotal role in the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. Currently, the people of Balochistan stand in solidarity with the people of India.'
Earlier, Tara Chand highlighted that the Baloch people are resilient and determined, suggesting that any attempts to control or exploit their land will face significant opposition.
He suggested that India consider a strategic approach to support Balochistan's freedom.
In recent months, Balochistan has witnessed a significant escalation in human rights abuses attributed to Pakistani security forces.
According to a January 2025 report by Paank, the human rights wing of the Baloch National Movement, there were 107 enforced disappearances across 14 districts, with Kech district reporting the highest number at 30 cases. Additionally, the report documented eight extrajudicial killings during the same period.
In the previous year, Paank reported 22 enforced disappearances and five extrajudicial killings, with Kech and Gwadar districts being the most affected. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
35 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Jaishankar to step up diplomatic push on visit to France, Belgium
On his third visit to Europe in the past few months, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar left on Sunday (June 8, 2025) for a week-long visit to France and Belgium. He is expected to meet with his counterparts in both governments, and in the European Commission and European Parliament in Brussels. This visit is part of the government's efforts to step up its diplomatic engagement post Operation Sindoor to garner support for India's fight against terrorism. 'The visit of EAM is expected to further deepen India's friendly relations with the European Union, France and Belgium and give renewed momentum to ongoing cooperation in diverse areas,' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, announcing the visit from June 8 to 14. In March, Mr. Jaishankar had travelled to the U.K. and Ireland, and in May, he had visited the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. In France, Mr. Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Paris for bilateral talks with French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot, and to Marseille to address the 'Mediterranean Raisina Dialogue', a conference of the Ministry and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). This is significant because Marseille is one of the European ports along with Trieste, Italy, and Piraeus, Greece that are in the running for the India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC) route, and although ambitions for the project launched in 2023 have been dimmed due to the Israel-Gaza conflict, New Delhi is keen to keep discussions on it alive. In Brussels, he will hold a 'Strategic Dialogue' with EU High Representative and Vice-President Kaja Kallas, the Ministry said. Mr. Jaishankar is also expected to raise India's request for the repatriation of diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, who is under arrest pending a trial for extradition to India to face charges of fraud and embezzlement. Mr. Jaishankar will end his tour in time for the G-7 summit in Canada, although it is unclear whether he will attend. He is also scheduled to travel to Washington for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting in early July and could accompany PM Modi to the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 5-6. The Hindu's Editorials The Hindu's Daily Quiz Which event management firm was involved in the RCB celebration incident leading to the tragic stampede? DNA Entertainment Percept Limited MAZE Events and Experiences Wizcraft Entertainment Agency To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
NDTV
40 minutes ago
- NDTV
How China Has Been Blocking India's UNSC Actions Since The 2000s
In the India-Pakistan strategic dynamic, China has emerged as an inextricable third actor, turning a bilateral rivalry into a triangular matter. While military escalation in the subcontinent does not align with Beijing's strategic interests, its pro-Pakistan leanings often manifest on international platforms. Most recently, China blocked the designation of The Resistance Front (TRF), an alleged offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), following the 2025 Pahalgam attack. This move reflects a longstanding pattern: China has consistently complicated New Delhi's diplomatic efforts to isolate Pakistan-based groups in global forums. As India seeks broader consensus on counterterrorism designations, particularly at the UN Security Council (UNSC), China has frequently intervened by blocking or delaying the listing of individuals affiliated with anti-India groups such as LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). A 'technical hold' in the UNSC sanctions process allows a member state to indefinitely delay designation without a formal veto. For decades, China has exploited this to delay, if not deny, sanctions on Pakistan-linked terror architecture without triggering a diplomatic confrontation. The symbolic framing of China-Pakistan relations, famously described by former Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani as 'higher than mountains, deeper than oceans, stronger than steel, and sweeter than honey", for now has translated into sustained strategic cover for Pakistan on the international stage. Chinese media's description of terrorism in India, such as the Pahalgam attack, as a case of 'shooting' by local gunmen against civilians, further supports the Pakistani narrative of the conflict. 'Technical Holds' China's pattern of using 'technical holds' in the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee can be traced to the early 2000s. After the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, India began pushing for international sanctions against Pakistan-based outfits. While China supported the designation of groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, it remained reluctant to target individuals associated with these anti-India groups, most notably JeM chief Masood Azhar, who was finally listed in 2019. India's first formal request to enlist Azhar came in 2009, following the Mumbai attacks and was followed up in 2016, 2017, and 2019. While international pressure eventually influenced this reversal after two decades, the exclusion of any reference to the Pulwama attack in the final listing allowed China to maintain that Azhar's designation was based on his long-standing links to terrorism rather than a specific attack on India. Over time, the Pathankot attack of 2016 and the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019 resulted in intensified Indian diplomatic efforts targeting Pakistan-based terrorist leaders and groups. All efforts were impeded by China's technical holds, despite co-sponsorship by France, the UK, and the US. At large, this trend continues. In 2023, Beijing blocked a joint India-US proposal to list Abdul Rauf Asghar and other anti-India terrorists. Double Standards This stands in contradiction to China's own counterterrorism posture against separatist and Islamist groups that threaten Chinese nationals and investments in Pakistan, including in major cities like Karachi. In 2021, a suicide bomber affiliated with the Baloch Liberation Army's (BLA) Majeed Brigade attacked a convoy carrying Chinese engineers and workers, killing three Chinese nationals near the Jinnah International Airport and the Chinese consulate area in Karachi. China has also raised similar concerns with the Taliban administration in Afghanistan regarding the alleged presence of Uyghur militant groups, such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). This antithetical approach serves dual purposes - mitigating pressure on Pakistan's influential military establishment while keeping India preoccupied with cross-border security challenges. The SCO Factor China's selective counter-terror posture also plays out in other multilateral groupings like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which remains a key arena for its regional influence. With India and Pakistan inducted as full members in 2017, China portrayed the bloc as a pan-Asia alternative to Western-led groupings. But India's strong stance against cross-border terrorism and leanings towards the QUAD bloc have complicated that narrative. India's limited participation in the SCO, especially since 2019, is increasingly shaped by the grouping's silence on cross-border terrorism allegations against Pakistan. India's decision to downgrade its summit participation to a virtual format in 2023 further challenges China's efforts to position the SCO as a counterweight to US influence in the region. For China, India's continued engagement in the SCO remains crucial for maintaining the bloc's diplomatic credibility. India could continue framing Chinese obstructionism as a significant concern for global counterterrorism efforts with the aim of raising the reputational and diplomatic costs of China's inaction, without relying solely on the UNSC system. India's widening engagement with QUAD, involving Australia, Japan, India, and the US, through military exercises and joint dialogues, will also keep China on edge by signalling a strengthened Indo-Pacific alliance countering the Chinese regional influence.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
From Operation Sindoor to infrastructural boost, report card of Modi 3.0's first year
Today, PM Narendra Modi completes 11 years in power and the first of his third term. It's been a year of big hits and outstanding achievements — the Modi 3.0 government saw the economy growing faster, the inauguration of big infra projects such as the Chenab Bridge and a new criminal justice system. But perhaps, the biggest achievement has been the resounding success of Operation Sindoor read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now completed 11 years in office. This is the first year of his third term -- he took the oath of office on June 9 last year. AFP Not five, not 10… Today (June 9) marks Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 11 years in power — he was sworn in as prime minister for a record third time on June 9 last year in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. It's been a busy one year for PM Modi and his government; it has to contend with two wars, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, navigate a new government in the United States led by the rather unpredictable Donald Trump and chart a new normal with Pakistan, who continues to export terrorism, mainly across the borders into India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As we mark this occasion in our calendars, let's take a closer look at Modi 3.0's achievements in the past one year. Operation Sindoor Perhaps, PM Modi's biggest achievement in the first year of his third-term tenure would be Operation Sindoor and the huge damage that it caused to Pakistan. Launched on May 7 as a counter to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocents died, Operation Sindoor was India's coordinated military strikes on terror camps deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In the days that followed, India and Pakistan reached the precipice of a full-blown war, as both sides engaged in a missile and drone war. However, India, under PM Modi, held its nerve. When Islamabad tried to intimidate the nation by raining down drones and launching Chinese-made missiles , a military — given a free rein by the PM Modi — responded in kind, deploying many ' made-in-India' weapons to extract its pound of flesh. At the end of Operation Sindoor, India came out on top . The country's military had eliminated more than 100 terrorists in Pakistan and PoK, including high value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed who were involved in the hijack of IC-814 and the Pulwama blast. Shopkeepers display a saree featuring Operation Sindoor at a store in Varanasi. AFP Moreover, the IAF struck Pakistani air bases, command centres, military infrastructure, and air defence systems across the entire Western Front in a coordinated and calibrated manner. Operation Satellite imagery revealed the extent of damage that Operation Sindoor had caused to Pakistan's Rahim Yar Khan airbase in Pakistan's Punjab province — the sole runway at the airbase had to be declared as non-operational for a week. But beyond causing damage and exhibiting a hegemony over Pakistan's military, which is largely dependent on China and Turkey, Operation Sindoor also signalled a doctrinal shift in India's strategy, establishing that state-sponsored terrorism would now invite targeted, visible, and proportional retaliation. It showed the world that India would no longer hesitate to punish terrorism — anytime, anywhere. It showed that terrorists and their masterminds have no place to hide. An economy to realise Viksit Bharat One of PM Modi's aims for India is a Viksit Bharat, turning India into a developed country by 2047. And to realise this dream, PM Modi and his government have been working tirelessly to ensure that the country's economy only surges forward. In his first year of his third term, he has taken many concrete steps to boost the country's economy. On June 10, just a day after he was sworn in as prime minister, he signed the release of Rs 20,000 crore to 93 million farmers under PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The full budget presented on February 1, 2025 also gave significant income-tax relief to the middle class by ensuring that people earning up to Rs 12.75 lakh were outside the tax net. A man passes by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building on the day of Union Budget 2025-26 presentation, in Mumbai. File image/PTI In addition to this, he has also taken multiple measures to improve the ease of doing business in the country. For instance, his government announced the abolition of 31 per cent angel tax which it claimed had been burdening start-ups since 2012. The government also reduced corporate tax from 40 per cent to 35 per cent for foreign companies besides setting up a Rs 1000-crore venture capital fund for space sector start-ups. It is through PM Modi's policies that India is set to be the fourth largest economy in the world by the end of the current financial year. India's GDP grew 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024-25, leading to 6.5 per cent growth in FY25 despite severe global headwinds, including uncertainties in global trade because of the US' reciprocal tariffs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In Modi 3.0 tenure, India has also signed two major trade deals. The first being the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) free trade agreement. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are the four members of EFTA. The deal – the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) – is significant because it is expected to help India bridge a huge gap in the balance of trade, which is in favour of the European nations. The second was the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is expected to double bilateral trade to over $120 billion by 2030. The other advantage of the deal is its impact on the India-European Union free trade negotiations. India is also negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US. A new criminal code for new India 'Tareekh pe tareekh (Date after date)' is a famous Hindi dialogue that is indicative of India's slow judicial process when it comes to dealing with criminals. However, Modi 3.0 introduced an overhaul of the criminal justice system in the country in July last year. Last July, the Modi government introduced three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — which replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act. Representational image/PTI The Modi government introduced three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — which replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act, respectively. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the change said, 'These laws are made by Indians, for Indians and by an Indian Parliament and marks the end of colonial criminal justice laws.' He added that the laws were not just about changing the nomenclature but bringing about a complete overhaul. 'Soul, body and spirit' of the new laws is Indian, he said. The change in laws also introduced a handful of new offences — as many as 21. One of the significant ones is penalising sexual intercourse through the employment of 'deceitful means'. The BNS also recognises murder on the ground of race, caste, or community as a separate offence. Moreover, organised crime and terror offences have been defined and covers a broad spectrum of activities. Infrastructure development With 'sabka vikas' in mind, PM Modi has laid special emphasis on infrastructural development in the country. And what better example than the inauguration of the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir on June 6. The world's highest railway arch bridge, which is part of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL), finally connects the Kashmir Valley to the rest of the country by rail for the first time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Chenab Rail Bridge during the inauguration of the Kashmir rail link, in Reasi, in Jammu and Kashmir. AFP Modi also laid the foundation stone for the Vadhavan Port project in Maharashtra's Palghar district last August. This project aims to create a state-of-the-art maritime gateway that is expected to enhance India's trade capabilities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme-4 (PMGSY-IV), approval was granted to the construction/upgradation of 62,500 km of roads and bridges to connect 25,000 unconnected villages, with central assistance of Rs 49,000 crore. Many of these unconnected villages have a population of less than 100. The government has also approved strengthening India's road network with an investment of Rs 50,600 crore. This includes a go-ahead for eight National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects spanning 936 kilometres. Elevating India on the global stage While Modi 3.0's first year's focus has largely been domestic policy, the government has ensured to bolster India's presence globally too. Shortly after becoming PM for a third time, Modi embarked on a visit to Italy where he attended the G7 Summit during which he also held bilateral meetings with the heads of the states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is welcomed by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni upon arrival at the Borgo Egnazia resort for the G7 Summit hosted by Italy in Apulia region. File image/AFP Later, in July, PM Modi embarked on a crucial two-day visit to Russia and Austria. The trip to Russia was the PM's first visit to the country after its invasion of Ukraine. During his Russia visit, PM Modi held the 22nd India-Russia annual summit with President Vladimir Putin. Significantly, PM Modi was conferred the 'Order of St Andrew the Apostle' award by President Putin for his contribution to fostering bilateral ties between the two countries. The Russian president also thanked PM Modi for trying to help find a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And Nearly six weeks after his visit to Russia, PM Modi visited Ukraine on the invitation by the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy where he held discussions on the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred the highest civilian award of Russian Federation, Order of St Andrew the Apostle, by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow. File image/PTI Then early in February, PM Modi visited France where he was the co-chair at the international summit on artificial intelligence. The PM was also among the first foreign leader to visit Donald Trump after he was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. During his February visit, Trump announced expanded US military sales to India from 2025, including F-35 jets, along with increased oil and gas exports to narrow the trade deficit. Both sides also agreed to negotiate a trade deal and finalise a new defence framework. He also confirmed that the US had approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Chicago businessman accused of playing a role in the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai. With inputs from agencies STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
