Daughters of Wahid Kamber Baloch Demand His Release, Announce Social Media Campaign

Quetta, July 2024: Mahlab Baloch, daughter of missing Baloch leader Wahid Kamber, held a press conference at the Quetta Press Club today, alongside Mama Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP).

She called on authorities for the immediate release of her father, accusing Pakistan’s intelligence agencies of abducting him from Iran.

Mahlab highlighted her father’s prominent role in Baloch national politics, where he was known as Ustad Wahid Kamber due to his longstanding activism. Since the 1970s, Wahid Kamber has been advocating for the rights of the Baloch people. “His unwavering loyalty to his people and his commitment to defending their interests made him an undesirable figure for the Pakistani authorities,” she said.

She recounted a history of persecution against her father, stating that in 2007, Pakistani intelligence agents, with the help of the police, arrested Wahid Kamber and subjected him to enforced disappearance for nine months. After he was surfaced, Kamber faced 12 terrorism charges but was acquitted in 2011. Despite this, Mahlab claims the state’s security agencies continued to harass him, forcing him into hiding.

Mahlab further detailed her father’s deteriorating health, including heart disease, which required him to move to the Iranian city of Kerman for treatment.

On July 19, 2024, while shopping near his residence in Kerman City Iran, four men in a white Peugeot Pars abducted him. Local witnesses reported the incident, but efforts to locate him have so far been unsuccessful.

She accused Pakistan’s intelligence services of orchestrating the abduction and secretly transferring her father to Pakistan, where he is believed to be held in an undisclosed location. “There is no doubt that he has been abducted by Pakistani agencies,” Mahlab said.

Mahlab emphasised her father’s critical health condition, stating that he recently underwent angioplasty and requires daily medication. “If he is not given timely treatment, his life will be at risk,” she warned.

Addressing the possible motives behind her father’s abduction, Mahlab suggested that Pakistani authorities aim to use him to apply pressure on the Baloch national movement. She alleged that in previous detentions, her father had been tortured and pressured to confess to crimes he did not commit, and fears that similar tactics are being used again.

Concluding the press conference, Mahlab Baloch issued a stern warning: “If anything happens to my father, the responsibility will lie with the Pakistani state and its military institutions.” She called on human rights organizations and the Baloch community to support her in the fight for her father’s release, vowing to use every available avenue to ensure his safe return.

The press conference aimed to raise awareness about Wahid Kamber’s situation and appeal for urgent intervention from authorities to secure his release. Despite being cleared of all charges by Pakistani courts, Kamber’s family insists that his political views have made him a target for persecution.

The family of Wahid Kamber also announced a social media campaign on  X September 20 (today) using hashtag #ReleaseWahidKamberBaloch and has appealed to Baloch and other human rights activists to be part of their campaign and help them raise voices for Mr Baloch’s safe release.