Free Balochistan campaign in Switzerland irks Pakistan

Geneva Sep 18 (IANS) Pakistan has urged the Swiss authorities to take action against "Free Balochistan" posters that have been put up in Geneva the media reported on Monday.

Ambassador Farukh Amil Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in a letter written to Ambassador and Permanent UN Representative Valentin Zellweger said the posters that appeared in the area around Rue de Ferney of Grand Saconnex "mentioned the name of Balochistan House (BH) as a sponsor" Dawn reported.

Pakistan s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva "has counted eight posters and one digital poster on display since September 3 " the letter reads.

According to the ambassador a car "remained parked near (the digital poster) and seemed to be guarding (it)".

"It is quite conceivable that local city authorities received certain revenue fee for display of these posters " Amil says in the letter stressing that "any notion of Free Balochistan is a flagrant attack on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan."

According to the letter the BH -- the apparent sponsor of these posters -- is an affiliate of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) which is a "listed terrorist organisation under the laws of Pakistan and other countries including Britain".

"The use of Swiss soil by terrorists and violent secessionists for nefarious designs against Pakistan and its 200 million people is totally unacceptable " the ambassador said demanding that "the incident is fully investigated with a view to blocking its recurrence in the future".

--IANS
ahm/dg