Balochistan: Another Eid and another protest for missing persons, 10 arrested in Gawadar

The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) held a protest demonstration in front of Quetta Press Club on Eid Day to demand the release of abducted Baloch activists while FC arrested another 10 Baloch from Gawadar on Friday.

The protest on Friday in front of the Quetta Press Club was attended by relatives of the abducted persons.

Families and friend of Baloch enforced disappeared persons have been protesting on Eid Day from last several years.

Three female family members of Safar Khan Marri also joined the demonstration. His daughter Bibi Hajira said that her father was abducted eight year ago.

She said, “Since the abduction of our father we are forced to live like orphans. Our education is finished and everything else is ruined.”

Another young participant in the demonstration, Mohammad Hyrbyair, said that several Baloch have been abducted and disappeared that is why he joined the rally of VBMP.  “We Baloch are celebrating Eid with simplicity,” He said.

Voice for Baloch Missing Persons Vice-Chairman, Mama Qadeer Baloch, speaking to the media said that no progress has been made to address the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan so far.

He said that because of this situation they are forced to protest even on Eid Day.

The current government of parliamentarians nationalists in Balochistan has included the issue of enforced disappeared in their priorities but  Mama Qadeer said that the current regime could not bring any change and military operations and disappearance continue as usual.

Meanwhile Frontier Corps (FC) spokesman Khan Wasey said FC and intelligence agencies’ personnel conducted a raid in Gwadar and arrested 10 suspected militants on Friday.

However, the identity of the ten arrested men could not be confirmed immediately.

Baloch social media activists expressed fear that Pakistani forces arrested and disappeared innocent Baloch during this raid and their life is in danger like thousands of previously missing Baloch activists.

Earlier the Home Secretary of Balochistan has confessed in a statement that Pakistani forces have arrested more than 8000 people from Balochistan in one year. He, however, did not say where the arrested persons were kept and what the charges against them were.

BBC Urdu