Chief Minister Balochistan’s comments that the “issue of Baloch missing persons is not a provincial one” have sparked outrage among Baloch human rights activists and political workers, stirring a debate on social media and attracting scorn from rights groups. The premier made the comments as hundreds of civilians were protesting on the roads of Gwadar against the “enforced disappearances” of at least 10 persons by the Pakistani security forces.
CM Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said in a press conference that the provincial government is not concerned with the issue of Baloch missing persons as it falls under the purview of the federal government. He said that despite this, the Balochistan government allowed the families to carry out their protests in Quetta. He said that the government has made no mistake whatsoever – the protestors must not disrupt the activities of life for the civilians, or we would be forced to take serious action.
Baloch human rights groups and political activists condemned the CM’s comments as “insensitive and “irresponsible.” Responding to the comments, VBMP leader Sammi Deen Baloch, who is also leading the protest in Quetta, said that the government can see the difficulties of the civilians but not our plight. She said we went to Islamabad, protested for several days on the D-Chowk and met with the prime minister of Pakistan – where else can we go now?
Addressing the chief minister, she said that we can’t meet with the army chief, nor can we go to the General Headquarters – we demanded meeting the core commander, but you also can’t do that. We protested for a month in front of the Governor’s House and when you did not pay attention to our demands, we were forced to block the roads. You can see the difficulties that the people of Quetta are facing, but you can’t see our plight.
The chief minister said that the Balochistan government has sent representatives to meet and negotiate with the protestors, as we want a political solution for this problem. He said that the government has not taken any action against the protestors, but they should not block the roads for an issue that does not fall under our responsibility.
He said that civilians and protestors quarrelled a few days ago, and this episode indicates that the common folk of the city are fed up with the constant protests and road blocking. He said that the anchorpersons in Islamabad must not whisper lies into the people’s ears – the government has taken action to resolve the problems facing the people of Balochistan. He said the provincial government will also assist the people devastated by the floods and make financial reparation to the victims.
The chief minister’s comments could not have been untimelier – hundreds of people took to the streets in Gwadar to block the Makran Coastal Highway in protest against the “enforced disappearance” of at least 10 individuals, allegedly at the hands of the Pakistani security forces. The protest was led by Haq Do Movement leader Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman.
The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, a human rights group campaigning for the safe release of Baloch missing persons, confirmed the news of the “enforced disappearances” on social media and identified seven of the ten individuals as Sahil Ameen, Sameer Hamza, Balach, Haji Suleman, Kachkol, Ali Jama and Ahsan Faqeer Muhammad.