QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN: A protest camp against enforced disappearances in Balochistan, organized by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), continued for the 6,407th day in front of the Quetta Press Club.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch said the organization’s long, peaceful, rights-based struggle aims to end enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of missing persons in Balochistan and across the country, secure the recovery of all missing persons and ensure justice for their families.
He said the government had never shown seriousness in resolving what he called a grave humanitarian and legal issue. As a result, he said, enforced disappearances and unconstitutional actions continue, worsening conditions in Balochistan and increasing unrest and insecurity among the public.
Baloch said enforced disappearance is a serious violation of human rights and contrary to the basic principles of the rule of law. He cited Article 9 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty except in accordance with law, and Article 10, which requires that an arrested person be told the grounds for arrest and be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
He demanded the immediate recovery of all missing persons and said anyone facing allegations should be presented in court and given a fair trial. He also called for impartial investigations into enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, with those responsible identified and prosecuted.
Nasrullah Baloch urged the government to take prompt, effective and practical steps to end enforced disappearances, recover missing persons and deliver justice to affected families, in order to restore the rule of law and improve law and order in Balochistan.
