Now, demand for Scot-style referendum in Balochistan

QUETTA: Baloch separatist leaders on Friday called on Pakistanto follow in Britain's footsteps by holding a referendum similar to Scotland's on granting independence to the insurgency-hit province. 

Scots rejected independence in a vote that left the centuries-old United Kingdom intact despite a surge in nationalist support in the final fortnight of the campaign. 

Bashir Azeem, secretary general of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party, said, "The Baloch have been struggling against the excesses and tyranny of Punjab-dominated establishment of Pakistan for decades." He added, "If a fair referendum is conducted after creating an atmosphere for it, providing the opportunity to Baloch population for deciding their future, it is welcomed." 

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Resource-rich Balochistan is the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.