Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Monday questioned a set of "coincidences" between a recent statement by the Indian national security adviser and the speeches delivered a day earlier by the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) of the Opposition.
“So [Ajit] Doval threatens hybrid war and LOC inside Pakistan and suddenly PDM’s Noorani talks of breaking away Balochistan, Maryam discusses issues of enforced disappearance while Nawaz Sharif seeks to sow mutiny in armed forces,” she said in a tweet. “Is it just a coincidental unity of purpose between India’s NSA and PDM?”
The government and Opposition are embroiled in a war of words that intensified with PDM taking to the streets.
Mazari’s statement comes days after Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval warned that his country will use its own soil as well as foreign territory in its fights against enemies.
According to Times of India, Doval said India will take the battle to where the threat originates. “We will fight where you want us to fight, that is also not mandatory. We fight where we feel the threat is coming,” the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) leader told a religious gathering in Risikesh on Saturday.
“We have never done it for selfish reasons. We will fight a war on our land and others’ land too but not our selfish reasons but for the highest good of others. You said we have never attacked anyone and there are many views about it,” he continued. “If there is a threat to the country, then we should have attacked as it is important to save the country.”
A day later, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan (JUI-P) leader Owais Noorani sought an independent state for Balochistan at PDM’s jalsa in Quetta. PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz also met with affected families and highlighted the missing persons issue during her stay in the southwestern province.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan also expressed concerns over Noorani’s remarks. “PDM is speaking in Quetta to make Balochistan a separate state,” he wrote, questioning the JUI-P leader’s narrative. “Is it BJP jalsa or PDM?”