Balochistan issue: Marchers seek recovery of missing persons
Urge government and UN agencies to find political solution to the problem.
Mama Qadeer Baloch. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Participants of the long march from Balochistan have demanded recovery of missing persons. They vowed to continue their journey till the recovery of their relatives, expressing disappointment over the response of the government and the courts.
The long march participants made this demand at a discussion jointly organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Insani Huqooq Ittehad (IHI) here on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mama Qadeer Baloch, who started the long march under the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) banner from Quetta four months ago and reached Islamabad on Saturday last, revealed that they were being threatened to end their campaign. However, they have decided to continue their journey.
The march also included people from Karachi and Hyderabad in search of their missing relatives.
Farzana Baloch, one of the women marchers, talked about her brother Zakir Majeed, who has gone missing since June 2009. She said there were many remote areas where people were unable to report about their missing relatives.
She urged the civil society and media to conduct a survey about missing persons and expose all such cases.
Salma Jafar, a social activist, asked the human rights organizations and civil society activists to join their struggle for justice and to raise their voices. She claimed that 19,500 people are missing and the government has taken no action in this regard.
Harris Khalique, writer and columnist demanded a political solution to Balochistan problem.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2014.
Participants of the long march from Balochistan have demanded recovery of missing persons. They vowed to continue their journey till the recovery of their relatives, expressing disappointment over the response of the government and the courts.
The long march participants made this demand at a discussion jointly organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Insani Huqooq Ittehad (IHI) here on Wednesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Mama Qadeer Baloch, who started the long march under the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) banner from Quetta four months ago and reached Islamabad on Saturday last, revealed that they were being threatened to end their campaign. However, they have decided to continue their journey.
The march also included people from Karachi and Hyderabad in search of their missing relatives.
Farzana Baloch, one of the women marchers, talked about her brother Zakir Majeed, who has gone missing since June 2009. She said there were many remote areas where people were unable to report about their missing relatives.
She urged the civil society and media to conduct a survey about missing persons and expose all such cases.
Salma Jafar, a social activist, asked the human rights organizations and civil society activists to join their struggle for justice and to raise their voices. She claimed that 19,500 people are missing and the government has taken no action in this regard.
Harris Khalique, writer and columnist demanded a political solution to Balochistan problem.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2014.