Appeal for missing persons cases of Balochistan

An Appeal to the Mr. Iftaikhar Mohammad Choudhary,the Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan

| by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.

( April 06, 2012, Balochistan, Sri Lanka Guardian) As you know that under the given circumstances, the people of Balochistan are suffering for the last many years due to highhandedness of intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces. The family members of Baloch missing persons have formed a non-political organization with the name of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons to raise voice over human rights abuses and to seek the release of their dear and near ones in Balochistan.

There are some demands on the part of hundreds of families of missing persons for your perusal which include:

1. That kindly transfer all the cases of missing persons from other benches and Judicial Commission to your honourable bench.

2. That in fact the affected families and eye witnesses have already recorded their statements before the Courts, the Judicial commission and the Joint Investigation Team. Besides that there are dozens of the affected families who have filed the cases several years before for the missing of their beloved ones, but till to date they are waiting for the Justice. Kindly take action against the responsible personnel of intelligence agencies in the light of these evidences.

3. That family members of the missing have nominated the Intelligence Agencies in the abductions cases of their kith and kin. Kindly summon their responsible ones before the honourable Court and ask them about the whereabouts of missing persons.

4. That one of the Provincial Ministers and PPP provincial President Sadiq Umrani informed the house during the session of Provincial Assembly that he and his two other cabinet members are eye witnesses to an incident near Mungochar on main Quetta-Kalat highway in which personnel of Frontier Corps Balochistan lined up two Baloch youth and gunned them down. The honourable member of Balochistan Assembly further claimed that next morning the dead bodies of these youth were found near that spot. Kindly summon the provincial Minister Mr. Umrani and record his statement about the incident.

5.That as majority of the missing persons belong to Balochistan and their families are unable to bear traveling expenses to Islamabad. Kindly hear the cases of missing persons in Balochistan under your supervision on urgent basis once a month.

6. That security forces are violating the human rights, law and constitution of Pakistan. No day passes without reports of the abductions and extra judicial killings of Baloch political activists at the hands of Intelligence agencies. The families who have been active raising voice over missing of their beloved ones or seeking their release by appearing before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Judicial Commission, Joint Investigation Team and Balochistan High Court to record their statements, received bullet riddled/decomposed bodies of their loved ones instead. Most of the missing persons’ families are having their cases registered in the Courts and are holding peaceful protests for the last many years in a hope to get Justice. Some of them who were active in the peaceful protests and registering their cases in the courts and with human rights organizations were abducted by intelligence agencies and executed in extra judicial killing. Over 300 Baloch bullet riddled/decomposed bodies of missing persons were found on the streets and in desolated places in different parts of Balochistan. That is why people have been disappointed from the Courts and commissions, fearing that they will be abducted and get extra judicial manner as their dear and near have already been abducted and killed in the same manner. And that is why they are also suffering physically and mentally.

7. That the present Government does show any seriousness towards missing persons issue as the government’s committees for the recovery of missing persons are in fact advocating the intelligence agencies.

8. That Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan, as you know better there is priority of human rights in the Law than the other issues like Memo scam, Mehran gate, NRO, Abbotabad incident etc. and it is humbly prayed that the cases of missing persons may be taken up on urgent basis and justice be dispensed to the families who are waiting for justice years.

We hope that the cases of missing persons will be heard on priority bases by taking the above mentioned points into consideration for providing justice to the victim families and taking strict action against the all those personnel of intelligence agencies involved in these abductions and killings of citizens.