Brussels: Sarang Sindhi, Representative of the Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh (VMPS), Europe Chapter, visited the European Parliament in Brussels and formally engaged with the office of the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), where he submitted a detailed memorandum on the issue of enforced disappearances in Sindh.
The memorandum documents 25 years of data and analysis on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Sindh. The information has been compiled by Sorath Lohar, Convenor of VMPS, and outlines what the organization describes as a systematic and widespread pattern of human rights violations in the province.
According to the memorandum, more than 3,500 Sindhi individuals primarily Sindhi and Baloch political activists were forcibly disappeared between 2000 and 2025. During the same period, over 50 Sindhi political activists were officially reported to have been extrajudicially killed in alleged staged encounters. Local human rights assessments suggest the actual number of such killings may be significantly higher, as many families refrain from reporting cases due to threats, intimidation and fear of reprisals.
The memorandum also highlights the targeting of human rights defenders and their families. It draws particular attention to the extrajudicial killing of Hidayatullah Lohar, Patron of VMPS, who was killed on 16 February 2024 in Naseerabad city of Qambar District. Hidayatullah Lohar was the father of Sorath Lohar, Convenor of VMPS. His killing, the memorandum states, exemplifies the grave risks faced by those advocating peacefully for truth, justice and accountability in Sindh.
Through the submission, Sarang Sindhi urged European institutions to take serious notice of the ongoing practice of enforced disappearances in Sindh, raise the issue at relevant international forums and press the Government of Pakistan to end enforced disappearances, ensure accountability for those responsible, and deliver justice to victims and their families.
Sarang Sindhi stated that VMPS believes continued silence and inaction will only embolden further human rights abuses and called on the international community to stand in solidarity with victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Sindh.
