QUETTA: The Vice Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) and a prominent human rights activist, Mama Qadeer Baloch, passed away on Saturday after a prolonged illness, according to an official statement issued by VBMP.
The statement said that Mama Qadeer had been critically ill for several days and was under treatment at Arya Hospital, where he passed away. His body is currently at the hospital, while his burial will take place in Surab. The time and venue of the funeral prayers will be announced later.
Mama Qadeer Baloch was widely regarded as a leading voice for the families of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. He led a historic, nearly 2,000-kilometre-long march on foot from Quetta to Islamabad to draw national and international attention to the issue of enforced disappearances. He also headed the VBMP protest camp in Quetta for many years, considered one of the world’s longest-running protest camps.
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the Baloch National Movement (BNM) said that the Baloch nation had lost a great human being who dedicated his entire life to the recovery of forcibly disappeared persons. The spokesperson noted that Mama Qadeer joined the movement for missing persons following the enforced disappearance and killing of his son, Jalil Reki, who was taken into custody and killed by Pakistani security forces in 2012. Despite this personal loss, he did not withdraw from the struggle and instead emerged as one of its strongest voices.
The BNM said Mama Qadeer protested continuously for 16 years, despite old age, health complications, and security threats, and remained a daily presence at the missing persons’ camp. The party said he played a key role in internationalising the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and remained steadfast until the end, calling him a symbol of perseverance and hope for thousands of affected families.
Mama Qadeer Baloch’s death is being widely described as a significant loss to the human rights movement in Balochistan.
