Ali Haidar Baloch, a young icon in Balochistan for his activism against enforced disappearances, has gone missing after being abducted by Pakistan’s security forces and intelligence agencies today in Gwadar city of Balochistan.
Ali Haidar was only 11 years old when made history by walking more than 2000km (1200 miles) on foot during a historic long march against the enforced disappearances in Balochistan in 2013.
The march was the longest in Asia after the communists’ under Mao Zedong in China, which was almost 8000km, however, Ali Haidar was not accompanied by soldiers but women, children and a 70 years old man known as Mama Qadeer.
The March was called ‘Voice for Baloch Missing Persons Long March’, which was carried out with the aim of raising awareness about the mass abductions of men and women in Balochistan by Pakistan’s security forces and its spy agencies.
Ali Haidar was part of that march as he was the son of a victim. His father Muhammad Ramzan was abducted by the same forces in 2010 and is missing till date.
VBMP, a campaign group for Baloch missing persons and other sources have confirmed that Ali Haidar Baloch, who now ran a shop in Gwadar city, has been abducted by security forces during a raid at his house.
Social media activists are using the hashtag of #ReleaseAliHaidarBaloch to protest his illegal abduction and demanding his release.
Ammar Rashid, a prominent activist of leftist Awami Workers Party, said in a tweet, Hearing troubling reports about teenage Baloch activist @AliHaiderVBMP being abducted from Gwadar today. We marched with him 5 years ago when he was looking for his father as a little boy. Now he has also gone missing. This must not be allowed to happen. #SaveAliHaiderBaloch”
Hearing troubling reports about teenage Baloch activist @AliHaiderVBMP being abducted from Gwadar today. We marched with him 5 years ago when he was looking for his father as a little boy. Now he has also gone missing. This must not be allowed to happen. #SaveAliHaiderBaloch pic.twitter.com/cD0csAqjDc
— Ammar Rashid (@AmmarRashidT) June 19, 2019
Hamid Mir, a stalwart journalist in Pakistan, tweeted about Ali Haidar and said “Sad to know that Ali Haider disappeared I saw him as a little boy few years ago when he walked from Quetta to Islamabad for the release of his father Ramzan Baloch unfortunately he is also missing today #ReleaseAliHaider”
Sad to know that Ali Haider disappeared I saw him as a little boy few years ago when he walked from Quetta to Islamabad for the release of his father Ramzan Baloch unfortunately he is also missing today #ReleaseAliHaider https://t.co/byk7mlr1jQ
— Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) June 19, 2019
Hamid Mir had also interviewed Ali Haidar and other participants of the long march back in 2013 on his show ‘Capital Talk’.
Enforced disappearances have become a basic tool for the military establishment of Pakistan to silence dissent. It has been used in Balochistan for decades now and also in Pakistan’s erstwhile Federally Administered Areas(FATA). The Pakistani military was also accused of abducting three bloggers a couple of years ago who were critiques and of the military.
Salman Haidar, one of the blogger activists who was abducted by military, also posted on his Facebook account about the abduction of Ali Haidar Baloch and said that Ali Haidar walked on foot from Quetta (Balochistan) to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, to find his father, but now he himself has gone missing.
