The Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) has claimed responsibility for attacking the Chinese engineers and Pakistan Rangers in two separate attacks in Karachi on Saturday.
In a recent media statement, Sudho Sindhi, the spokesperson for the group, claimed responsibility for attacks on the Chinese engineers in Clifton, Karachi, and the Rangers’ check post on the Karachi University Road.
Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army is an armed, “pro-independence” group that adheres to the idea of Sindhudesh (literally “Sindhi Country”), independent from Pakistan. The idea was proposed by Sindhi nationalists soon after the independence of Bangladesh in 1972.
The SRA spokesperson said in the statement that Pakistan has “invaded” and “occupied” the islands, coast and other resources of Sindh under the pretext of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and other related projects.
He said that the personnel of the Pakistani intelligence agencies break into the houses of the Sindhi nationalists, disgrace and manhandle the women and apprehend innocent children.
The statement further read that the “Sindhudesh” is under the “joint occupation” of both Pakistan and China. The Sindhi nation has the right to resist this “occupation” and defend its homeland.
The spokesperson concluded by reiterating that the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army will continue its struggle until the independence of Sindh.
The SRA has launched similar attacks against the Pakistani forces in the past. Earlier this July, a former Pakistan Rangers’ officer was killed in a grenade attack by the SRA. The group also claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in August this year, including one on the ‘Kashmir rally’ organized by the Jamaat-e-Islami. The group also launched attacks on the Pakistani Independence Day preparations this year.
The SRA also formed a united front with the Baloch Raj Aajoi Sangar, the umbrella organization of Baloch pro-independence organization, with the aim of liberating the “oppressed Balochistan and Sindh” from Pakistan.
Related: Baloch umbrella organisation, BRAS, and Sindh Revolutionary Army to form a united front
It is pertinent to mention that since its inception in 1947, Pakistan has been mired in numerous pro-independence movements in Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Separatist movements have also grown in Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The insurgency in Balochistan has been that longest and most intense pro-independence movement in the country so far.