QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The sister of Mehrgul Marri has issued a public appeal to the Baloch nation in a video message ahead of August 30, observed as Baloch Missing Persons Day, renewing calls for her brother’s recovery eleven years after he was forcibly disappeared.
In the video statement, she said her brother a duty director and Grade-18 government officer was taken from their home by personnel of state institutions at approximately 3:00 AM in 2015. She said officials raided the house and took him away in front of the family and that no information about his whereabouts or condition has been provided in the eleven years since.
She said she spent years protesting on the streets in an effort to secure her brother’s recovery, enduring hardship, fear and displacement, but never abandoned hope. She said the disappearance devastated her entire family and that her mother, unable to bear the prolonged grief and mental anguish, lost her mental balance and later died from the sorrow.
She further said that her family continued to face harassment after her brother’s case came to light, including repeated raids on their home and said she herself was at one point arrested and detained.
She said this pattern extends beyond her own family, alleging that individuals who raise their voices for missing persons in Balochistan are themselves targeted. She cited the case of Dr Mahrang Baloch, who she said was imprisoned after advocating for missing persons and Nazar Marri, a rights activist who she said has himself been missing for the past year, with his family similarly uninformed of his whereabouts.
She said she continues to speak out because August 30 serves as a day to amplify the voices of the disappeared and their families. She appealed to the Baloch nation and the Marri community in particular to stand with affected families on that day and to demand the recovery of all forcibly disappeared individuals along with truth and information for their families.
Speaking directly to the camera, she said, “Where is my brother? This is not only my question it is the question of every mother, sister and daughter still waiting for their loved ones to return.”
She said her campaign for her brother’s release and for all forcibly disappeared persons would continue.
