A condolence reference was held on Thursday at the Quetta Press Club to honor veteran human rights activist and Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) vice chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch, with participants reaffirming their commitment to continue the struggle for the recovery of missing persons.
The event was organized by VBMP and attended by a large number of political leaders, representatives of student organizations, human rights activists, and families of forcibly disappeared persons. The reference was presided over by VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch.
Those who attended included political leader Haji Lashkari Khan Raisani; Balochistan National Party central secretary for information Advocate Agha Hassan Baloch; National Party central vice president Dr. Ishaq; Baloch Yakjehti Committee central deputy organizer Lala Wahab Baloch; Pakhtunkhwa National Milli Awami Party deputy secretary Suleman Bazai; National Democratic Movement central secretary general Muzammil Shah; Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leader Zubair Agha; Awami National Party general secretary Mohabbat Kaka; BSO Pajjar central vice chairman Babal Malik Baloch; BSO zonal president Kabir Baloch; Hazara Workers Forum’s Zamin Changezi; Baloch Women Forum member Sultana Baloch; Women Democratic Front Balochistan president Advocate Fatima Khilji; and Revolutionary Communist Party leader Karim Parar, along with other political and social figures and relatives of missing persons.
Speakers paid tribute to what they described as Mama Qadeer Baloch’s long, consistent, and unparalleled struggle, calling him a powerful symbol of resistance against enforced disappearances.
They said Mama Qadeer Baloch organized hunger strike camps for more than 15,000 days, led historic long marches from Quetta to Islamabad, and raised the issue of missing Baloch persons at international forums, turning the human rights struggle into a global concern.
According to the speakers, despite intense pressure, hardships, and personal losses, Mama Qadeer Baloch refused to retreat from his stance and remained a voice for the oppressed until his last breath.
Addressing the reference, speakers expressed deep concern over what they described as serious human rights violations in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. They said a severe human rights crisis exists, while constitutional and legal institutions appear to have failed to protect affected communities.
At the conclusion of the event, a unanimous resolution was adopted demanding that all forcibly disappeared persons be brought before the public and given the right to due legal process, that innocent individuals be released immediately, that enforced disappearances of Baloch women be ended, and that extrajudicial killings be stopped. The resolution also called for families of missing persons to be provided accurate information, for institutions involved in enforced disappearances to be held accountable, and for effective legislation to prevent such practices.
The resolution further demanded the dignified release of detained leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, including Dr.Mahrang Baloch, Beebow Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch, Shah Ji Baloch, and Beebarg Baloch, as well as all political prisoners, and called for a political resolution to the issue of Balochistan.
Participants also agreed that political parties and student organizations should set aside differences and work collectively in an organized manner to protect the fundamental human rights of the Baloch people and other marginalized communities, with particular focus on opposing enforced disappearances.