Baloch Council of North America (BCNA) is a

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

advocacy organization in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

that seeks to "unite all Baloch people and secure Baloch rights, including the right of self-determination, within the Pakistani Federation". BCNA is one of several politically active organizations with roots in the

Baloch diaspora The Baloch diaspora () refers to Baloch people, and their descendants, who have immigrated to places outside the Balochistan region of South-West Asia – a region stretching from southwestern Pakistan to southeastern Iran and southern Afghanis ...

, working alongside the Baloch Unity in Russia, and the Baloch Voice Foundation in France.

History

BCNA was originally founded as BSO-NA or ''Baloch Society of North America'' in 2004 by Dr. Wahid Baloch in Washington D.C.. Dr. Wahid Baloch graduated from Bolan Medical College in

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

in 1990 and in 1992, he immigrated to the

. The BSO-NA lobbied the U.S. government and Israeli political activists to support the independence of Balochistan. In 2012, Dr. Baloch and representatives of American Friends of Balochistan and the Baloch Council of North America met with American Congressmen and allegedly had meetings with several CIA officials. Dr. Baloch had long claimed that the

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i state was committing acts of genocide against the Baloch people, and that the government's aim was to plunder the province's vast mineral resources. In January 2014 he released a letter appealing to the United States and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for direct assistance in preventing an alleged "killing spree" of Baloch people by what he called the "law enforcement agencies of Pakistan".

Disbandment and reorganization

Dr. Baloch disbanded and reconstituted his organization in 2014 with a newfound emphasis on human rights advocacy. Dr. Baloch disbanded the BSO-NA, saying that the war of independence for Balochistan was actually a "war of independence of Khans,

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

s and

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

s". He reconstituted the group as the Baloch Council of North America (BCN), dedicated to working with all democratic and nationalist forces in Pakistan to secure Baloch rights through democratic, nonviolent means, within the federation of Pakistan.

References

{{Baloch nationalism Baloch diaspora Political advocacy groups in Pakistan Foreign policy lobbying organizations in the United States 2004 establishments in the United States Baloch nationalism