If there’s a referendum in Balochistan, people will vote for India: Baloch leader
NEW DELHI : The people of Gilgit-Baltistan will vote for India if there is a referendum because Indians never occupied that land, a top Baloch leader said on Saturday, as tensions rise between the locals and the government over the proposed China-backed CPEC project.
The statement comes as Pakistan deploys additional security in the region fearing violent protest by the people of Balochistan over the project.The Pakistani authorities have already made a number of arrests against those opposing the CPEC project, which Islamabad claims would bring huge employment as well as rapid development to the region.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is also opposed by India as it passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.“People are aware that Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed region, by arresting a few people, you (Pakistan) think CPEC will be built, and $42bn will be in your pockets, it’s a dream,” ANI quoted a senior Baloch leader Abdul Hamid Khan as saying.
He also said that “If a referendum happens, the people of Balochistan will vote for India because they never committed atrocities on us.”He accused Pakistan of imposing a war on the Baloch people and said India never occupied their land.“Pakistan’s coward army gave Siachen to India,” the chairman of the Balawaristan National Front alleged.
