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KARACHI/LAHORE: Activist and writer Abdul Wahid Baloch was released on Monday afternoon, according to the family and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
As other activists and friends of Abdul Wahid, also known as Comrade Wahid, reached his residence to confirm the news in the afternoon, they found him with his family.
Soon, his photographs were shared on social media to inform activists residing in other cities about his release.
For her father’s ‘release’
The activist’s daughter, Hani Wahid, was in Lahore to attend an agricultural workers’ conference when she heard about her father’s release.
“I could not imagine that a phone call from my cousin would carry such good news,” she said, holding back her tears.
“I had come here to meet Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Someone close to him had told me that it would be difficult to meet him in Lahore because of his tight schedule and would be much easier in Karachi. We were just discussing that among ourselves when I got a call about my father. Now, I cannot wait to go back home,” she added.
Abdul Wahid Baloch was picked up on July 26 from the Superhighway toll plaza by two men in plain clothes
She said that it was painful waiting for her flight back to Karachi which was only a couple of hours away because all she wanted to do was get home as fast as possible.
“I have not heard anything about his health or mental state yet. I only hope that he is well,” she said anxiously, adding that she had not spoken to him on the phone.
Earlier in the day, Hani, 20, said she had seen articles published in an Urdu- and Sindhi- language dailies, in which the head of the Commission on Missing Persons, retired Justice Javed Iqbal, shared an update on the number of missing people who had been recovered.
Abdul Wahid’s name was also mentioned in the list of 65 people recovered by the commission.
What happened
On July 26, Mr Wahid was whisked away by two men in plain clothes from the Superhighway toll plaza from a passenger van.
His friend and travel companion, Sabir Ali Sabir, was left alone while Mr Wahid had been asked to step out of the van. His daughter, Hani, filed a petition in the Sindh High Court on Aug 2 after police officers at the Gadap Town police station refused to register a First Information Report (FIR).
For months after the disappearance, the court gave several orders for the recovery of the missing activist. A signature campaign was under way by activists across the country for his release.
In captivity
HRCP’s provincial vice-chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt was among the first people to meet Mr Wahid at his home in Lyari’s Chakiwara area on Monday. Speaking to Dawn, Mr Iqbal said the activist looked fine and had grown a beard while in “custody”. The first thing he did on his return was to shave off the beard.
As activists lined up at Mr Wahid’s home to congratulate his family on his release, Mr Iqbal spoke to him about his time in the custody. While discussing his trip to Mirpurkhas and Umerkot, among other towns he visited in Sindh, Mr Wahid told Mr Iqbal that he wanted to visit the birthplace of Mughal emperor Akbar and eventually write a travelogue on the trade routes Mughal emperors took to enter Sindh.
Discussing what the activist had told him, Mr Iqbal said: “He [Abdul Wahid] said that he was blindfolded and told to sit inside a Vigo. He had no idea where they took him as he was blindfolded the entire time apart from when he was given food or had to use the restroom.
“When the blindfold was taken off, he saw that he was in a 6x6 room and was accompanied by a few other men held under the same charges as him. He said that all captives had to undergo a haircut every week or go completely bald. He was told to keep a beard while his moustache was shaved off.”
Mr Iqbal said that while in custody the writer was frequently asked about the Balochistan movement and his links with the Democratic Students Federation. He refuted the charges made by his captors of having any links with either of them.
Published in Dawn December 6th, 2016
