|
The protest camp of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) has entered its 6,337th day, with families of people allegedly subjected to enforced disappearances continuing their decades-long campaign for information about their relatives.
Participating in the protest, 90-year-old Moria Mary said her relatives, Dad Muhammad Mary and Muhammad Saleh Mary, were allegedly forcibly disappeared from Quetta on March 23, 2013. She said that more than 13 years later, the family had received no information about their whereabouts. Moria Mary appealed to the authorities to provide information about the two men and ensure their recovery. "The purpose of recording our cries at the VBMP protest camp is to draw the attention of senior officials and seek information about our missing loved ones," she said. VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch said families had been engaged in a peaceful and legal struggle for years to recover their relatives, but the issue remained unresolved. He said enforced disappearances had continued in Balochistan for a prolonged period, leaving families facing severe distress, suffering and psychological pressure. The protest camp continues to receive visits from relatives of people whom they allege have been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security agencies. The families have called for the immediate recovery of all missing persons and an end to enforced disappearances. Recently, the parents of Hammad Khan and Babar Qumbrani also visited the camp. They alleged that although Hammad Khan's arrest was known, his family had not been allowed to meet him, while Babar Qumbrani remained missing. The families demanded Babar's immediate recovery and sought permission for Hammad Khan's family to meet him. Earlier, relatives of Rafiq, Shakir and Shakir's wife, Gul Bano, who they said went missing from Awaran, also approached the VBMP seeking assistance. Nasrullah Baloch assured the families that their concerns would be raised on every available forum and called on the authorities to ensure the immediate recovery of the missing persons. The VBMP has maintained that the prolonged cases of enforced disappearance have caused immense hardship for affected families, who continue to seek information and legal redress through peaceful protests. Thousands of Baloch people, including intellectuals, students and political activists, have reportedly gone missing after allegedly being picked up by security agencies for raising their voices against human rights violations in Balochistan. Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over allegations of enforced disappearances and other rights violations in Balochistan. The VBMP has alleged that many missing persons remain in detention facilities across Pakistan, while others are feared dead. The organisation has called on the Pakistani authorities to account for all missing persons, ensure due process and take concrete steps to prevent further enforced disappearances in Balochistan. (ANI)
|
