QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: Families of missing persons held a peaceful demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club on the occasion of Eid, organised by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), as participants said many Baloch families continued to spend religious occasions campaigning for the recovery of their loved ones.
Women and children were among those participating in the protest, with demonstrators carrying photographs of missing relatives and demanding information regarding their whereabouts.
Speakers at the gathering included VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch, activist Niaz Baloch and senior political figure Maheem Khan Baloch, alongside relatives of missing persons.
Addressing the protest, participants said that while Eid was being celebrated elsewhere in the country, many families in Balochistan continued to spend religious occasions campaigning for the recovery of their loved ones. Organisers stated that despite years passing, many families had received no information regarding missing relatives.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said the organisation had repeatedly called for the issue of missing persons to be resolved through legal and constitutional means, but alleged that authorities had failed to adequately address the matter. He further claimed that 257 new cases of enforced disappearance had been registered with the organisation since February, despite official claims that recently introduced legislation would help resolve the issue.
Nasrullah Baloch also said that authorities had been pressuring organisers to end the group’s protest VBMP camp in Quetta.
