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An American activist, who has been closely following developments in Balochistan for quite some years now, has asked the US government to provide arms and logistical support to the Baloch freedom fighters or Sarmachars to stop the Chinese designs in Gwadar.
"The US government must stop China's influence in Pakistan," said Jane E. Weisner, general secretary of the American Friends of Balochistan, Thursday.
Chinese president Xi Jinping was in Islamabad 10 days ago and signed 50 MoUs worth nearly $50 billion, with the main aim of linking Kashgar in China with Gwadar port as part of his "Maritime Silk Road" vision.
"In truth it is the oppressed and occupied country of Balochistan that China has sunk her long claws into," she emphasized. "The reason: natural resources that China desperately needs. China is poor in natural resources but has money to expand its sphere of influence."
The Amherst-based activist said she believes the US must support the Baloch whole nine yards."To do that the US military must aid the Baloch Sarmachars (freedom fighters) with advisors, and equipment. Not just automatic weapons, but rocket launchers, tanks, EIDs and armor played vehicles."
However, she opined the US need not send boots on the ground as the brave Baloch Sarmachars will fight their own battle for freedom.
Supporters of the freedom movement say the same thing that the Baloch people are fully capable of defeating Pakistan in Balochistan, but that the US military aid helps the Pakistan army. Earlier this month Marie Harf, spokesperson for the State Department, defended one billion worth of new arms sales to Pakistan. The very next day Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, an alleged Mumbai terrorist, was freed from prison amid US protests.
Last Friday, a prominent human rights defender, hactivist and feminist Sabeen Mahmud, 40, was shot dead after she hosted a talk “Unsilencing Balochistan” at her free speech intellectual boutique T2F, or the Second Floor. The New York Times said people were pointing a finger of blame at the ISI, which has long been accused of running a parallel government in Pakistan.
Weisner is concerned US support to Pakistan may in fact help China. "The US government must open its eyes to China's building a port large enough to support a Naval base. China has a long term plan to build 8-10 battleships in the next 10 years," she said.
In defense of Balochistan rights, the Baloch unofficial representative to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Mehran Baluch has often clashed with the Chinese representative.
Weisner said the Gwadar port sits right on the Straits of Hormuz and is a perfect place for a Chinese naval base. "Does the US want to see China overseeing and possibly controlling all the oil that travel through the Straits of Hormuz? I do not think so. To prevent China from achieving its goal of a naval port in Gwadar, the US government must act and support the Baloch Sarmachars," Weisner concluded.
"The US government must stop China's influence in Pakistan," said Jane E. Weisner, general secretary of the American Friends of Balochistan, Thursday.
Chinese president Xi Jinping was in Islamabad 10 days ago and signed 50 MoUs worth nearly $50 billion, with the main aim of linking Kashgar in China with Gwadar port as part of his "Maritime Silk Road" vision.
"In truth it is the oppressed and occupied country of Balochistan that China has sunk her long claws into," she emphasized. "The reason: natural resources that China desperately needs. China is poor in natural resources but has money to expand its sphere of influence."
The Amherst-based activist said she believes the US must support the Baloch whole nine yards."To do that the US military must aid the Baloch Sarmachars (freedom fighters) with advisors, and equipment. Not just automatic weapons, but rocket launchers, tanks, EIDs and armor played vehicles."
However, she opined the US need not send boots on the ground as the brave Baloch Sarmachars will fight their own battle for freedom.
Supporters of the freedom movement say the same thing that the Baloch people are fully capable of defeating Pakistan in Balochistan, but that the US military aid helps the Pakistan army. Earlier this month Marie Harf, spokesperson for the State Department, defended one billion worth of new arms sales to Pakistan. The very next day Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, an alleged Mumbai terrorist, was freed from prison amid US protests.
Last Friday, a prominent human rights defender, hactivist and feminist Sabeen Mahmud, 40, was shot dead after she hosted a talk “Unsilencing Balochistan” at her free speech intellectual boutique T2F, or the Second Floor. The New York Times said people were pointing a finger of blame at the ISI, which has long been accused of running a parallel government in Pakistan.
Weisner is concerned US support to Pakistan may in fact help China. "The US government must open its eyes to China's building a port large enough to support a Naval base. China has a long term plan to build 8-10 battleships in the next 10 years," she said.
In defense of Balochistan rights, the Baloch unofficial representative to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Mehran Baluch has often clashed with the Chinese representative.
Weisner said the Gwadar port sits right on the Straits of Hormuz and is a perfect place for a Chinese naval base. "Does the US want to see China overseeing and possibly controlling all the oil that travel through the Straits of Hormuz? I do not think so. To prevent China from achieving its goal of a naval port in Gwadar, the US government must act and support the Baloch Sarmachars," Weisner concluded.
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