Click to play videoNew Delhi: For the second straight day, Parliament rocked to the Opposition barrage on the reference to Balochistan in the joint statement.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, LK Advani said, "The Baloch inclusion in the joint statement is not clear even after the Prime Minister's or Pranab Mukherjee's address to the House."
At a Washington briefing, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, acknowledged Pakistan had brought up Indian involvement in Balochistan during bilateral discussions - but never provided any matching proof.
Holbrooke had said, "I would be misleading you if I said that the issue didn't come up."
Pakistani insecurities and suspicions about India stem from the fact that it is Pakistan's biggest province, has a long coastline bordering the Persian Gulf and land borders with Iran and Afghanistan. The province is rich in natural gas and strategic minerals.
Meanwhile, Baloch nationalists say Islamabad has never allowed them a share of their natural resources.
Their demands for political autonomy have been repeatedly denied and military and civilian governments have used force to crush Baloch nationalist movements that began in 1948.
Experts believe India may have partially funded some of the Baloch nationalists during the insurgency in the 1970s, but are skeptical about any current Indian involvement.
The Baloch nationalists are deeply divided and Iran will not like India to support a separatist movement there given their sensitivities in Sistan province which is inhabited by Baloch. If India is involved in Balochistan through its consulates in Afghanistan, that would imply it is being done with the tacit backing of not just the Afghan government but also America.
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