Major General Ayman Bilal of Pakistan Confirms China’s role in ‘crushing’ Baloch freedom movement
In 2015, China commenced an economic project both in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Baluchistan worth $46 billion. The Gwadar Port made Balochistan an integral part of this project.
With the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing aims to expand its influence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia in order to counter India and its sway in the Indian Ocean Region and of course US in the Gulf region.
The CPEC would link Pakistan’s southern Gwadar port (626 kilometers, west of Karachi) in Balochistan on the Arabian Sea to China’s western Xinjiang region. It also includes plans to create road, rail and oil pipeline links to improve connectivity between China and the Middle East.
Occupied Balochistan remains poorest and least populous region as hardly any development projects have been initiated by Islamabad there in the past.
No wonder Baloch Freedom fighters have waged a War of independence in the region for decades, complaining that the government in Islamabad and the richer Punjab province unfairly exploit their resources. Islamabad reacted to the freedom fight by launching a military operation in the province in 2005.
Baloch freedom Movement, both armed groups and political groups, oppose China’s increasing involvement in the province. A surge in the deadly attacks by Baloch freedom fighters in Pakistan has sent the risks and costs of China’s ambitious Belt and Road projects soaring.
They have also launched several attacks on China workers and officials. In November 2018, Baloch fighters attacked the Chinese consulate in Pakistan’s southern Karachi
Now in a shocking revelation, a Pakistan Army General has admitted China’s role in “crushing” the Baloch freedom movement in Pakistan, saying Beijing has given him a six-month task to end the freedom struggle by Baloch people.
“China has deployed me here to crush the Baloch movement and has given me a six-month task,”Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Sun quoted him as saying.
Calling Iran the biggest enemy of Pakistan, Ayman Bilal, Major general of the Pakistani Army, said Pakistan Army will go inside Iran and take action against them.
“China has paid me a salary and a large sum of money and officially posted me here for their regional interests and to thwart Iran’s conspiracies against CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), as it is a kind of investment in regional interests,” he said.
Major Genera Ayman Bilal said that the end of the Baloch movement and the success of CPEC is very important for Pakistan and China. “We have a good amount of money for this task, so let us know how much you need because we can’t wait any longer for Iran to create unrest in Balochistan, conspire against CPEC and stab us in the stomach in the name of friendship,” he said.
