Baloch leader urges Trump to back Balochistan freedom cause

Washington, Jan 5
A senior US-based Baloch leader has urged President Donald Trump to extend the same support he showed to the people of Venezuela against dictatorship to the people of Balochistan, drawing sharp parallels between Venezuela’s former leadership and Pakistan’s military establishment.

In a post on X, Dr. Tara Chand, president of the Baloch American Congress, said President Trump “recently stood with the people of Venezuela against dictatorship” and should “likewise support the people of Balochistan in their struggle for freedom.”

Chand alleged that, just as Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro “handed over his nation’s natural resources to China and allowed them to be looted,” Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir is “selling and mortgaging Balochistan’s vast natural and coastal resources to China and to the world.”

He accused Munir of acting as a “double agent,” claiming that Balochistan’s resources are being leveraged toward China while simultaneously being used as “bait to mislead the United States.” Chand called on President Trump to take “firm action” against the Pakistani army chief, comparing such a step to the recent US action against Maduro.

In his post, Chand also drew comparisons between the Venezuelan regime and Pakistan’s military, alleging involvement in drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human rights abuses and regional destabilisation. He claimed that Pakistan’s military exports “radical Islamic extremism beyond their borders,” posing what he described as a threat to global stability.

Referring to past controversies, Chand cited the discovery of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, alleging that the Pakistani military had harboured him while continuing to receive financial support from the United States.

Chand further alleged that security operations in Balochistan have resulted in daily killings and enforced disappearances, which he described as “crimes against humanity.” He said General Munir “must be held accountable and arrested, just as dictators elsewhere have been pursued for their crimes.”

“The people of Balochistan deserve justice, freedom, and the right to control their own land and future,” Chand wrote.

The Baloch American Congress, based in Washington, describes itself as a registered political organisation advocating for the Baloch national struggle for self-determination and the protection of the socio-cultural and political rights of the Baloch diaspora in the United States. Chand, its president, is a former cabinet minister in the government of Balochistan.

The remarks come amid heightened global attention on human rights, resource control and US policy toward authoritarian regimes following recent developments in Venezuela.