ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz met the families of the Baloch missing persons on Wednesday.

The families have been protesting in Islamabad for the last one week for the recovery of their loved ones.

Talking to mediapersons at D-Chowk, Maryam Nawaz asked the government to at least inform the families of missing persons about the fate of their relatives. She also urged the army chief and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general to play their role to address the issue.

She criticised the government for not reaching out to the protesters, saying that it was the duty of the state to take care of its citizens.

“If you cannot recover their loved ones, at least you can tell them where they are. They won’t do anything; they will just cry and fall silent, but at least the agony that they go through every day will end,” Ms Nawaz said.

When asked why the PML-N did not address the issue during its tenure, she did not give a clear answer and said at the moment she was here to express solidarity with them (protesters).

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also met the missing persons’ relatives.

He informed them that the government was taking the issue seriously and would adopt all possible measures for their recovery.

He said a number of people had been recovered due to the government’s efforts. Moreover he said, Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday had directed that a legislation be made for missing persons.

“The law ministry has been analysing legal aspects and all government resources will be utilised to recover the missing persons,” he said.

Meanwhile, the families of the Baloch missing persons continued to block D-Chowk for the second day.

They had set up a camp outside the National Press Club last week but after failing to get government’s attention, decided to march towards D-Chowk on Feb 16. The sit-in continued even on Wednesday.

The families said Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in a meeting held at the Parliament House had given them assurances that he would play a role in arranging a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan but did not turn up even after five days.

One of the participants of the sit-in, Sammi Din Baloch, told Dawn that her father Dr Din Mohammad Baloch had been missing from Awaran since June 28, 2009.

“For the last 12 years, I have been running from pillar to post to know the whereabouts of my father, and even contacted Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari, but failed to get any information,” she said.

Seema Baloch, whose brother Shabbir Baloch has been missing from Awaran since Oct 4, 2016, said her brother was the information secretary of Baloch Students Organisation.

There were a number of other relatives, including Bibi Haleema, whose son Hassan Qambrani’s whereabouts are unknown since he went missing from Quetta on Feb 14, 2020, and Raj Bibi, mother of Zakir Majeed Baloch, missing since June 8, 2009. There was also Baz Khatoon from Khuzdar whose son Rashid Baloch has been missing since Dec 26, 2018.

Atiya Baloch, whose brother Hizbullah Baloch went missing from Quetta on Feb 14, 2020, was also present at the sit-in. Gul Simaa arrived from Quetta, hoping that her son Jahanzaib Baloch, missing since May 3, 2016, might be recovered.

Zar Gul was another woman protesting for the recovery of her son, Saeed Baloch, missing for the last eight years. Saima, daughter of the missing Mehr Gul Marri, was also there and so was Hani Gul Baloch whose fiancée Naseem Baloch has been missing since May 14, 2019. She had come from Turbat.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence of Human Rights (DHR) Chairperson Amna Masood Janjua said it was encouraging to see a large number of students, residents of Islamabad and representatives of political parties participating in the protest to show solidarity with the families of missing persons.

“I did not see any political will during the tenure of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. A similar situation exists even now. Through the efforts of DHR, 1,200 missing persons were recovered. If the prime minister starts making efforts, there will be very encouraging results,” Ms Janjua, whose husband is also missing, said.

Voice of Missing Persons Chairman Nasrullah Baloch told Dawn that it was unfortunate that the families were in the capital for the last one week but there was no progress.

“Five days ago Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani called me. Though I have a list of 5,228 missing persons, in the first phase I handed a list of 300 to him,” Mr Nasrullah, whose uncle Ali Asghar Baloch went missing from Quetta on Oct 18, 2001, said.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2021