Baloch human rights defender says India-Afghan ties key to regional peace

Quetta, Oct 9 (IANS) Leading Baloch human rights defender Mir Yar Baloch on Thursday described the growing ties between Afghanistan and India as a positive and meaningful step toward establishing lasting peace and development in the entire region.

He stated that the partnership would also help in taking concrete measures to eradicate extremism and cross-border terrorism originating from the "rogue state" of Pakistan.

“The 8-day official visit by the Taliban's FM Maulavi Amir Khan Muttaqi will help understand identical issues, challenges and to chalk a policy to overcome those. It is worth noting that before the creation of Pakistan, Afghanistan’s trade routes passed through the Bolan region into India. This clearly demonstrates that Balochistan has historically served as a reliable friend and a strategically vital link between Afghanistan and India," Mir posted on X.

"To facilitate Afghan traders, the ports of Gwadar and Chabahar in Balochistan can serve as vital gateways for transporting Afghan goods to Central Asia and Europe. Such cooperation would enhance India’s regional engagement and bring real improvements to the lives of ordinary people," he added.

Calling India, Balochistan and Afghanistan as historic neighbours, Mir emphasised that the greater the distance between them, the stronger their adversaries become.

"Our peoples are connected by deep human, religious, and cultural bonds, and therefore the peoples of Balochistan, Afghanistan, and India share the wish that their governments remove all barriers and support one another across every international forum. By doing so, we will deny Pakistan and its sponsored militants the opportunity to spread violence and disorder. We will also help each other to overcome international sanctions, economic and nuclear blackmailing," he stressed.

The human rights activist expressed hope that, in the next phase of these evolving relations, both Delhi and Kabul would consider taking steps to initiate diplomatic and economic engagement with the representatives of Balochistan and the Baloch pro-independence leader Hyrbyair Marri.

--IANS

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