Amir Ahmed Suleman Daud, whose ancestors ruled much of the Balochistan region, now a part of Pakistan, declared in London he will approach India for the independence of Balochistan. Daud is in exile in the United Kingdom.
Addressing a seminar entitled “Balochistan Re-visited” at the British Houses of Parliament organised by The Democracy Forum, Daud said: “I will go to India (to pursue independence for Balochistan).” In reference to Narendra Modi’s speech on 15 August last supporting Balochi separatism, he added: “I welcomed Mr Modi’s statement.”
Speaking to a packed house, he resolutely stated, in course of stormy exchanges with pro-Pakistan elements in the audience, he will go to Afghanistan, Iran and other countries. He disclosed he is actively in touch with Congress in the United States to achieve his goal.
He described Balochistan’s accession to Pakistan in 1948 as an “annexation”. He argued: “We lost our independence because of geo-politics.” He explained this by saying Britain wanted to deny the Soviet Union access to warm waters. “This is why they (the British) went back on the treaties (between the Kalat State and the UK).
In the centuries-old Kalat Confederacy (effectively Balochistan), the Khan of Kalat was the head, Daud maintained. The British leased various parts of the Kalat State. On 4 August 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India, the Khan of Kalat and the founder of the in-coming state of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, signed an agreement in Delhi recognising the independence of Kalat for negotiation purposes. Kalat, in fact, remained independent until 28 March 1948, when it merged under duress with Pakistan.
Daud virtually accused Jinnah of treachery. He explained the latter was Kalat’s lawyer from 1933 to 1947. “He (Jinnah) pleaded our case with the (British) Privy Council,” Daud mentioned.
He went on to say the British “persuaded Jinnah to change his mind”. He concluded: “He (Jinnah) had inside information, which undermined us.”
The Democracy Forum is a non-profit-making organisation, founded in 2009, whose aim is to work for the furtherance of democracy, peace, and the rule of law in order to eliminate religious fundamentalism and terrorism from our global communities, with special emphasis on a community-based approach to countering extremism and political violence. It is chaired by Nigel Huddleston MP, with Lord Malcolm Bruce as its president.