QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) protest camp against enforced disappearances, set up in front of Quetta Press Club, entered its 6,210th day today.
On this occasion, National Democratic Party (NDP) central organizer Advocate Shahzaib Baloch visited the protest camp and expressed solidarity with the families of missing persons. He demanded the immediate end of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial actions, along with the recovery of all missing persons.
Today’s protest camp was attended by Lawang Khan, brother of Shahid Ahmed Kurd, and Hazoor Bakhsh, father of Noor Muhammad Kurd, who provided details of their missing loved ones to VBMP.
According to the families, Shahid Ahmed Kurd, son of Muhammad Afzal, and Noor Muhammad Kurd, son of Hazoor Bakhsh, were taken into custody on the night of April 8 this year, at approximately 3:00 AM, from Kali Khali, Western Bypass, Quetta, by personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and other agencies, who reportedly told the families that the men would be released after interrogation. However, despite several months having passed, they have neither been presented before any court nor has any information about them been provided to their families.
The families stated that they have made multiple attempts to register a report at the relevant police station, but their FIR (First Information Report) has not been registered, leaving the families in a state of severe mental distress and uncertainty.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch assured Lawang Khan and Hazoor Bakhsh that the cases of Shahid Ahmed Kurd and Noor Muhammad Kurd would be raised at the organizational level before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances and the provincial government, and that their voices would be raised on every possible forum for the safe recovery of the missing men.
He demanded that the government ensure the recovery of all missing persons, including Shahid Ahmed Kurd and Noor Muhammad Kurd. He further stated that if any charges exist against them, they should be presented before courts in accordance with the law, and their families should be freed from continuous distress and uncertainty.
