The Balochistan cabinet approved a parliamentary committee on the issue of missing persons on Tuesday. The body will be headed by the provincial home minister and include two members each from the government and the opposition.
The Balochistan cabinet announced the decision after a meeting on Tuesday. “The summary of the commission should be submitted to the Chief Minister as soon as possible,” the cabinet decided.”
It is pertinent to mention that the families of the victims of the Ziarat incident and Baloch activists have been protesting in front of the Governor’s House in Quetta for the past 27 days. They have proposed three demands – the formation of a judicial inquiry to investigate the Ziarat incident; an assurance from the government that the Baloch missing persons will not be killed in “fake encounters”; and a guarantee that the Baloch missing persons would be safely released.
Despite the turbulent weather of Quetta in the past several weeks, the protestors have refused to budge – they are adamant that they would not move an inch until they are fully assured that their demands will be fulfilled. The protestors claimed in a press conference on Tuesday that the government is trying to strong-arm them into ending the protest. They said that government representatives visited the protest and told them that there would be no negotiations until the protest is ended.
Political parties, human rights groups and activists have sympathized with the protestors and raised their voices in support. Activists have carried out social campaigns, urging the provincial and the federal government, including the Prime Minister of Pakistan, to meet and negotiate with the protestors.