The long-running hunger strike camp of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) in Quetta was vandalized on Wednesday when unknown individuals attacked the site, damaging tents and tearing photographs of the forcibly disappeared, the organization said.
The camp, located outside the Quetta Press Club, has served for more than 16 years as one of Balochistan’s most visible protest sites against enforced disappearances.
In a statement, the VBMP said the camp had been closed for three days to observe mourning following the death of its vice chairman, Mama Qadeer Baloch. When the camp was reopened on Wednesday, members found the tents damaged and the photographs of missing persons defaced.
The organization said this was not an isolated incident, noting that the camp has previously been targeted several times, including being set on fire, which it described as a serious violation of human rights.
Mama Qadeer, who led the camp for over a decade, died on Saturday at the age of 85 after a prolonged illness. Under his leadership, the protest operated daily outside the Press Club, where he maintained a hunger strike from morning until evening to demand the recovery of missing Baloch persons.
The VBMP said the camp is now being led by its chairman, Nasrullah Baloch, and other organizers.
According to the statement, online propaganda and targeted campaigns against the VBMP had intensified following Mama Qadeer’s death. The group said such efforts appeared aimed at undermining a peaceful movement but insisted they “will fail”, adding that the struggle for justice would continue.
“The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental human right,” the VBMP said, urging the international community to take notice of human rights violations in Balochistan.