If there is a saying that can describe the current situation of Pakistan very well, then it is- ‘adding insult to injury’. Pakistan is still feeling the pain of India’s Operation Sindoor when its largest province Balochistan has declared independence from Pakistan. Baloch leader #MirYarBaloch has formally declared independence of Balochistan from Pakistan citing violence, kidnapping and human rights violations being committed by the Pakistan government on his people. Along with this, he has appealed to the international community including India to support him.
Mir Yar Baloch has sought permission from India to open a Baloch embassy in New Delhi. He has asked the United Nations to recognize Balochistan as an independent country and to provide billions of rupees for currency and passports.
The question arises that what is the process of international recognition of any country? What will Balochistan have to do to establish itself as a country?
It is not easy to form a separate country
The leader of Balochistan may have declared his region as an independent country by calling it a separate part of Pakistan, but just doing this does not make Balochistan a separate country. To understand this, we have to know about some countries of the world which have declared themselves independent but are not considered separate countries.
The Somaliland region in East Africa considers itself an independent country but is not recognised as a separate country internationally. Somaliland is a part of Somalia which declared itself separate from Somalia in 1991. Somaliland is ruled by democracy and elections are also held. The people here are also prospering faster than Somalia but no country has recognised Somaliland till now.
The United Nations has also not recognised Somaliland as a separate country, so despite the declaration, Somaliland is not counted as a separate country.
The case of Balochistan is more complicated
The case of Balochistan is more complicated where the government of Pakistan will never agree that Balochistan, which is 44% of Pakistan, should separate from it and become a new country.
The fight for independence of Balochistan has been going on for decades and the repression of the Pakistani government and army has increased in Balochistan. Rebel groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and the Baloch Liberation Front have been fighting the Pakistani army for years and this fighting has intensified in recent years.
Balochistan leader Mir Baloch has declared independence of his region from Pakistan and has appealed to the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces so that the Baloch people can be freed from Pakistan. But despite Mir Baloch’s claims of independence, the fact is that Balochistan is still a part of Pakistan.
Support of powerful countries is needed for recognition as a new country
For the independence of Balochistan, the help of the United Nations and the support of the major powers of the world will be needed as was the case with Kosovo. Kosovo is an autonomous region of Serbia. Serbia emerged as a new country after the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
After independence, the Kosovo region within Serbia demanded independence, which Serbia tried to suppress with full force. But the world’s powerful countries, America, Britain and European countries stood with Kosovo. The army led by the United Nations and NATO reached Kosovo to liberate Kosovo from Serbia.
But after the Second World War, there was a consensus among the countries in the United Nations that no change can be made forcefully in the borders of any country. Here, the United Nations itself has given the right of self-determination to the people of any region and the people of Kosovo wanted to separate from Serbia using this right.
In view of this, America and the United Nations found a middle path and instead of declaring Kosovo an independent country, it was declared an autonomous region and the people there were given more rights.
But still Kosovo has declared itself an independent country. America, Britain and European countries have recognised Kosovo but the United Nations does not consider it a separate country.
No region can become a country without the recognition of the United Nations
If a region declares itself a separate country and if the United Nations does not recognise it, then at the international level that region is not considered a country. When the United Nations recognises an independent region as a country and it gets membership of the United Nations, then it can avail the benefits of all international assistance.
Whether it is taking a loan from the International Monetary Fund or help from the institutions of the United Nations… membership of the United Nations is necessary for every work.
What is the process of getting recognition from the United Nations?
– For this, first the region has to send an application to the United Nations Secretary General in which it should be written that the region will follow the Charter of the United Nations as a nation.
– After the United Nations receives the application, it is sent to the Security Council. It is necessary for at least nine out of the 15 members of the Security Council to support the proposal for the region to become a country. Out of the 15 member countries of the Council, five are permanent members – China, France, Russia, Britain and America and if even one of these countries votes against the region becoming a country, then the application is cancelled.
– If the application is approved, the Council’s recommendation for the country to join the UN is taken to the General Assembly.
– The General Assembly has 193 member states and a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly is required for a new country to be recognised in the UN.