The family of a missing bank security guard from Chitkankoh area of Panjgur has demanded his immediate recovery while calling to stage a sit-in protest if their demands are not met.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Haji Khalid, Mohammad Iqbal, Abid Hussain, Rashid Hussain and Sajid Hussain, along with their other family members, stated that 32-year-old Zahid Hussain was a peaceful citizen employed as a security guard at a private bank in the area.
On the evening of May 9th, after finishing his duty at around 6pm, Zahid had reached home when Army personnel in civilian clothes barged into his house and forcibly took him away.
“When we asked who they were and where they were taking Zahid, they said he was being taken to Quetta for interrogation and would be released later,” Haji Khalid said. However, he added that nearly a month has passed and there is still no trace of Zahid nor any information about his whereabouts.
The family made an emotional appeal to the authorities for Zahid’s recovery on humanitarian grounds. “Our small children, elderly parents, and all relatives are going through immense distress and anguish over this. It is a catastrophe for us,” Abid Hussain said.
They appealed to the authorities of Pak-occupied-Balochistan, Inspector General of Police, Commissioner Makran Division, security agencies, and human rights organizations to take notice of the matter and ensure Zahid’s safe recovery. “If he has committed any wrongdoing, he should be presented before a court,” Rashid Hussain demanded.
The family expressed confidence in Zahid’s innocence, saying he was simply discharging his duties as a bank security guard. As a final warning, Sajid Hussain announced that if their demands are not met, they will be forced to stage a sit-in protest at the Deputy Commissioner’s office and on the CPEC route.
Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture—these are the tools of a Army failing to suppress the Baloch community since it occupied the region forcefully in 1948.