Quetta, Nov 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) on Wednesday has raised serious concerns over the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum (PMIF26), scheduled to be held in Islamabad on November 12–13, alleging that the government is seeking to turn the exploitation of Balochistan's natural resources into an international economic enterprise by involving foreign investors and multinational corporations.
According to the BNM, the forum, which is to be held under the banners of investment and development, is an attempt to deprive the people of Balochistan of their own resources and perpetuate poverty, deprivation, and economic subjugation in the region.
"We describe this as mineral colonialism, a system in which external powers reap the benefits of a region's natural wealth while its indigenous population is subjected to exploitation and marginalisation," the BNM stated.
The group said that no foreign investment, mining project, or extraction of natural resources in Balochistan could be considered acceptable without the free, genuine, and collective consent of the people in the province.
It stressed that any agreements concluded by disregarding the will and political status of the people would remain "illegitimate and unacceptable", further deepening the ongoing conflict and potentially escalating violence in the region.
"We urge all international mining companies, investors, and financial institutions to refrain from investing in Balochistan. Balochistan is an occupied territory and a region experiencing an ongoing conflict. Under these circumstances, the international community has a moral and political responsibility to support the Baloch nation's right to self-determination and their struggle for freedom, rather than becoming complicit in the economic interests of an occupying state," the BNM stated.
Highlighting the escalating abuses by Pakistani authorities, the group said that enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests of political activists and leaders, fabricated criminal cases and systematic efforts to silence political voices in Balochistan were part of a broader strategy to suppress the political and economic rights of the Baloch people.
It said that these measures were also aimed at maintaining control over the region's natural resources.
For decades, the BNM said, people of Balochistan have struggled for their national identity, homeland, and the right to exercise control over their resources.
"The continued sacrifices of Baloch men, women, and youth are a testament to the enormous human cost of this struggle. Claims of development and prosperity in Balochistan that disregard these realities are nothing more than an illusion. International companies must recognise that exploiting Balochistan's resources without the consent of the Baloch nation risks making them complicit in a contested and exploitative enterprise," it noted.
The BNM called on the United Nations, international financial institutions, and the wider international community to make the free consent of the Baloch people a fundamental condition for any project involving Balochistan's natural resources and to take notice of human rights violations in the region.
"Any project imposed against the will of the Baloch nation will only perpetuate exploitation, resistance, and further instability," it warned.
Source: IANS
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