Baloch and Sindh leaders protested against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) outside Chinese Embassy in London on Monday. Rallies were also taken out in Sindh, Pakistan by protesters who chanted for "azaadi."
Similar protests had been conducted in Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan recently, with leaders there protesting against human rights violations and the CPEC. The communities have said that the $46 billion project has not benefited them and is damaging the ecology of the area.
"We are protesting outside the Chinese embassy against the CPEC. Pakistan wants to forcefully impose the CPEC on Balochistan. We are being shown as a minority community...whatever we are doing...it's for our basic rights," Baloch activist Hakeem Wadela told ANI.
This is the first time that activists of different organisations have come together against the CPEC and Pakistan's human rights violations in the region.
The organisations that have come together are the Sindhi Baloch Forum (SBF), the World Sindhi Congress (WSC), the Baloch National Movement (BNM), the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), the Baloch Human Rights Council UK (BHRC-UK), the Baloch Students and Youth Association (BSYA) and the Baloch Students Organisation.
To make way for the CPEC, thousands of people have been displaced without a proper plan for rehabilitation or compensation, said the activists.
"It is a project of capture on our land and coastal lines. This is not an economic project. It is a matter of life and death for the Baloch and the Sindhis. We will never agree to this project," World Sindhi Congress Chairman Laku Luhana told ANI.
Apart from slogans of "azaadi," the leaders also chanted "Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Balochistan," "Kadam Badhao Modiji hum tumhare saath hain," "No to CPEC" and "Hai haq humara aazadi".
"China and Pakistan want that Balochistan bows down. They want to give the resources of Balochistan to Punjab and China. We will stand against it," Niaz Baloch told ANI.
The protest outside the Chinese Embassy in London is set to focus international attention on the issues.
During his Independence Day speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted the troubles of the Baloch people. DNA quoted sources as saying that delegates from the troubled regions will be invited for the 14th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day), to be held in Bengaluru in January 2017.
