Balochistan: Families of Abducted Baloch Protest on Eid Day

QUETTA: Thousands of people took to the streets on Eid Day in response to a Balochistan-wide strike called by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.

As part of the fifth phase of the ongoing movement against Baloch Genocide, the Baloch Unity Committee called for protests across Balochistan on Wednesday, the first day of Eid, a Muslim religious celebration marking the end of the month of Ramadan.

In this regard, protest demonstrations took place in all major cities of Balochistan, including Karachi, where thousands of men, women, children, and the elderly participated in the protest instead of celebrating Eid.

Political and social activists from different walks of life also participated and supported the protests of Baloch families of Pakistani state’s victims of atrocities and enforced disappearances.

During the demonstrations, family members of disappeared Baloch spoke of their suffering, pain, and unending wait for the return of their loved ones.

Nadia Baloch, the sister of the missing Shah Fahd, addressed the protest demonstration in front of Kharan Press Club, saying, “Three years have passed since my brother’s forced disappearance. Earlier, we demanded the recovery of our brother several times at Quetta Press Club and Islamabad International Press Club, but he has not been recovered yet.”

Similarly, the families of the missing Rahmuddin and Khalid Nawab addressed the demonstration, stating that their loved ones were innocent and had been arrested and disappeared by Pakistani security forces.

The relatives reiterated their demand that if their loved ones were involved in any criminal activity, they should be presented in court and given a chance to defend themselves according to the law of the land.

Apart from the relatives, several people addressed the protesters, condemning the illegal policies of the state against the Baloch genocide and expressing sympathy with the families of the missing persons.

In Quetta, the capital of Pakistan-Occupied Balochistan, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons organized a protest rally to demand the release of the disappeared Baloch and an end to the Baloch genocide by Pakistani forces.

A protest was also held in Islamabad to express solidarity with the families of Baloch Missing Persons. Amaan Mazari, lawyer of Baloch missing students, also joined the protest and supported the demands of the protesters, calling on state forces to immediately release Baloch students.

It is pertinent to report that Baloch Human Rights groups and families of the disappeared Baloch say that the Pakistani army, ISI, FC, and the CTD have disappeared thousands of Baloch, many of whom have been killed in custody by Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and other forces.

Hundreds of previously disappeared Baloch have also been killed during fake encounters by the Counter Terrorism Department.