QUETTA: The protest camp organized by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) against enforced disappearances in Balochistan continued for the 6,072nd consecutive day on Saturday outside the Quetta Press Club.
Speaking at the camp, VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch referred to remarks made by Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti during the 22nd meeting of the provincial cabinet, in which the chief minister had confidently claimed that the issue of missing persons in Balochistan would be resolved after February 1. According to the chief minister, individuals taken into custody by state institutions would no longer be subjected to enforced disappearance but would instead be detained under the Enforced Disappearances Act 2025, with their families allowed to meet them.
Nasrullah Baloch said the chief minister’s statement was contrary to ground realities. He said that on February 2, security forces detained Muhammad Bakhsh Sajdi, father of Baloch National Movement Chairman Dr. Naseem, along with his uncle Naeem Sajdi and maternal uncle Rafiq Baloch, from their home in the Sky Blue area of Hub Chowki, and transferred them to an undisclosed location. He said that to date, they have neither been produced before any court nor has their family been informed about their well-being.
He further stated that similarly, several Baloch individuals from different walks of life have been detained from various areas of Balochistan as well as from Karachi, but none have been presented before courts nor have their families been provided any information.
Nasrullah Baloch also expressed concern over recent public statements by the chief minister suggesting that family members of individuals involved in alleged anti-state activities could also be held responsible. He said such remarks raise serious concerns about collective punishment, which, like enforced disappearances, violates both national and international human rights laws.
He emphasized that Pakistan’s laws clearly state that punishing an individual for the actions of a family member constitutes an extrajudicial act. He warned that illegal measures and collective punishment would not improve the situation in Balochistan, adding that history shows such actions have only worsened conditions over time.
The VBMP chairman once again urged the government and heads of state institutions to refrain from encouraging legal action based on collective punishment. He demanded that families of missing persons be immediately informed about the whereabouts of their loved ones, their safety be ensured, access to legal counsel be provided, innocent detainees be released, and that all actions by state institutions be carried out strictly within the framework of the law to help improve the situation in Balochistan and ease public unrest.
