Under the leadership of the Baloch Unity Committee and Vice President Baloch Missing Persons, protests have erupted across Pak-occupied-Balochistan, Karachi and Islamabad on Eid, calling for the recovery of missing individuals and an end to enforced disappearances by Pak Army in Quetta, under the banner of the protest rally “Voice for Baloch Missing Persons,” organized by the Quetta Press Club. Besides pictures of missing persons, posters demanding the recovery of missing persons were also displayed.
The participants of the rally returned to the press club from various neighborhoods where a protest session was held. A large number of relatives of missing persons addressed the protest, including a 9-year-old innocent girl.
The girl said she was three years old when her father, Jehanzeb Baloch, was forcibly disappeared in 2016 by the Pak Army. She said, “Now I am 9 years old. I haven’t seen my father. On the occasion of Eid, other girls go shopping with their parents besides going to parks. Whom should I go shopping with, and who will take me to the park?”
Lifting up the new clothes and shoes in her hands, she said, “My grandmother buys new clothes and shoes for my father every Eid, hoping that if my father returns on the night of Eid, his Eid would not be without new clothes and shoes.”
Eid Protests
The Baloch Students Council in Islamabad also staged a peaceful protest in front of the National Press Club against the enforced disappearance of Feroz Baloch, Ahmed Khan and the harassment of Baloch students.
In a video from Awaran, Grisha, Khuzdar, and Naan, scores of people, including women and children, marched. In Quetta, a large number of people, including women and children, took to the streets in a demonstration to demand the recovery of forcibly disappeared individuals. On Eid day, Balochs and Sindhis held a protest against enforced disappearances at the Karachi Press Club. Additionally, in Pak-occupied-Balochistan, relatives of missing persons protested for the release of Baloch missing persons.
On a wall in Pak-occupied-Balochistan, there is a inscription: “There is no Eid without our beloved ones.”
On this occasion, the Vice-Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Mama Qadeer Baloch, said that the protests of the relatives of missing persons have been ongoing for two decades, but for the past 16 years, they have been taking to the streets every Eid for the recovery of their loved ones.
He said, “Our demand is simple, that if the missing persons have committed any crime, they should be presented in the courts according to the state laws, and if they are innocent, they should be recovered immediately.”
End to Enforced Disappearances
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a leader of the Baloch Unity Committee, strongly criticized the inhumane behaviour displayed by various institutions towards addressing the matter. Despite ongoing protests and rallies, the situation persists, with more disappearances reported each month.
She said that today protest rallies have been organized in 25 cities of Balochistan, including Quetta, for the recovery of missing persons and against enforced disappearances. She lamented the fact that while people around the world celebrated Eid, families of missing persons were compelled to protest, underscoring the urgency of the matter.
Dr. Baloch emphasized that the suffering of those affected by enforced disappearances cannot be overstated. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, currently in its 5th phase against Baloch Genocide, organized widespread protests across 25 regions in Balochistan, including Bhag, Rakni, and Kohlu, with significant participation from the Baloch community.
From Lyari to Koh e Suleman, the Baloch Nation has endured a systematic genocide for the past 75 years. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee remains steadfast in its commitment to continue the struggle until this genocide ends. Currently in its 5th phase against Baloch Genocide, the BYC has organized protests across Pak-occupied Balochistan on Eid. Pak-occupied Balochistan is currently experiencing systematic genocide based on its identity, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, military operations, forced displacements, economic oppression, and other atrocities.