An elderly woman who spent more than a decade protesting for the recovery of her forcibly disappeared son has died while still awaiting his return, as protests against enforced disappearances continued in Quetta with families renewing calls for the recovery of missing persons.
Ama Hoori, the mother of Gul Mohammad Marri, who was allegedly taken into custody by Pakistani forces and forcibly disappeared from Quetta on Aug. 7, 2012, passed away without learning her son’s fate, family members and rights activists said.
For 14 years, Ama Hoori staged sit-ins and protests in Quetta and Islamabad and pursued legal petitions before commissions and courts seeking her son’s recovery. Despite sustained efforts, Gul Mohammad Marri never reappeared.
According to relatives, she continued demonstrations despite decades of personal hardship and widowhood, regularly attending protest camps and public gatherings demanding information about her son.
In a statement issued after her death, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee described her as “a symbol of resistance,” saying she never stopped campaigning after her son’s disappearance in 2012.
The group said she endured baton charges, threats, hunger and exhaustion while participating in protests. It added that she joined protest camps alongside Dr. Mahrang Baloch in 2023 following reported violence during the Baloch Raaji Muchi gathering and later travelled to Dalbandin for demonstrations. According to the statement, she continued seeking justice during protests in Islamabad in 2025.
“She left this world still waiting, without embracing her son one last time or learning of his whereabouts,” the organization said, adding that her struggle remains reflected in families continuing to protest enforced disappearances.
The group renewed its demand for the immediate and safe release of all forcibly disappeared persons.
VBMP Protest Camp Completes 6,081st Day
Meanwhile, the protest camp established by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) against enforced disappearances completed its 6,081st day on Monday outside the Quetta Press Club.
People from different walks of life visited the camp to express solidarity with families of missing persons and called for an end to enforced disappearances, demanding the recovery of all missing individuals, including Tanveer Ahmed and Bashir Ahmed.
The mother and grandmother of the two boys joined Monday’s protest despite cold weather and rain in Quetta.
According to their mother, Bibi Shahida, her sons – 17-year-old Tanveer Ahmed and 15-year-old Bashir Ahmed, sons of Shabbir Ahmed – were taken into custody on the night of Feb. 3 from their home in Killi Bangulzai, Sariab Custom area of Quetta by Frontier Corps personnel and other state agencies and moved to an undisclosed location.
She said authorities have not provided any information about their condition or whereabouts, leaving the family in severe distress.
“My husband has passed away. These two sons are my only support,” she said during the protest, adding that she has been attending the VBMP camp for the past two days seeking intervention from senior officials.
VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch said the boys’ mother is suffering severe psychological stress and has fainted multiple times at the protest camp.
He appealed to government authorities and state institutions to ensure the safe recovery of the two teenagers to relieve their mother’s suffering and address the family’s concerns.