ISLAMABAD: An Associate Professor at the Georgetown University in Washington DC known for her criticism of Pakistan surprised her followers by confirming her contacts with a Baloch dissident leader.
Ms Christine Fair’s links with this leader has raised serious questions if her interest in Pakistan is merely academic.
Connecting with Baloch dissidents on social media, Ms Fair appeared to confirm that her planned rand-e-vous with the Baloch leader could not take place.
It is not known how far back in time Ms Fair has been in contact with the Baloch leader.
Ms Fair’s interest in Balochistan is intertwined with her passion for India. Her social media account has publicly shared messages from dissident leaders seeking help from India. Pakistani officials have been claiming Indian links with terrorism in Balochistan and dossier was shared with the Secretary General of the United Nations during Prime Minister’s visit to New York last month. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also shared a copy of these dossiers with Secretary John Kerry during his visit to the United States in October 2015.
It should be noted that Baloch dissidents have alleged that they are being victimized. They claimed that they are being denied their due rights by successive governments.
It could not be confirmed if the dossiers dwelled on the information leaked “inadvertently” by Ms Fair at a round table organized by the Foreign Affairs in 2009 where she recalled her visit to Indian Consulate in Zahidan and stated that they (Indian Consulate) did no issue Visa and that Indians were pumping money in Balochistan. Her comments were widely carried by the media and facing the fallout, Ms Fair tried to step back from this public admission of India’s activities in Balochistan and her role in it.
It is not clear if Georgetown University was aware of Ms Fair’s plan to meet the leader of Baloch dissidents.
It further remains to be seen if US authorities would take notice of Ms Fair’s contacts with such leaders. Her penchant for aggressive attacks on Pakistan that goes beyond inciting violence is not a secret.
Her most articulate performances are mostly reserved for Pakistan. Lately this passion transgressed into actively inciting violence against Pakistanis. Images of a Facebook post dated 27th August attributed to her account appear to ridicule Pakistan’s call for safety and security of its diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. Citing a list of complaints Ms Fair seemed to suggest burning down Pakistan Embassy by Afghan and roasting goats over the fire. The Facebook post was later removed but its images are still available and so are images of her social media entries publicizing India’s RSS, another violent actor in the region.
