As Pakistan marks 73rd Independence Day, #BalochistanSolidarityDay and #14AugustBlackDay trend on Twitter

New Delhi: Pakistan was left red-faced after Balochistan, a province located on its southwestern borders, called for its freedom as the country observed 73rd Independence Day on Wednesday. The cash-strapped nation is observing 14 August as ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’, in a protest against India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 that accorded Jammu and Kashmir with special status, and passing a bill, which bifurcated the region into two Union Territories. [caption id=“attachment_6172821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Rattled by New Delhi’s historic move, Islamabad had also condemned it as an “illegal aggression” and called on the international community, including the United Nations, the United States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to interfere in the matter. However, reiterating its stand over the Kashmir issue, India has consistently refuted any third party interference calling it to be its “internal matter” and resolve all difference “bilaterally”. However, despite Pakistan’s outcry over the recent development in Kashmir, #BalochistanSolidarityDay and #14AugustBlackDay started trending on Twitter with more than 100,000 tweets and 54,000 tweets respectively. Balochistan, the most volatile province in the southwestern borders of Pakistan has been struggling since 1948 against Pakistani occupation. The Baloch people say that they got independence from the British on 11 August, 1947. The province, rich in natural gas fields, has also accused China of plundering their economic wealth especially after the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects, and special economic zones under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). At a time when Islamabad has been urging the UN Security Council to take action over the plight of Kashmiris in the wake of changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir, it is worth mentioning that the human rights violations in Balochistan have already drawn concerns of the international community and other human rights watchdogs.