Reposted from Daily Times | November 22, 2011 | Story
Also see: The Baloch Hal Exclusive: "The Supreme Court no longer talks of the missing persons," an interview by Malik Siraj Akbar with Nasrullah Baloch

Nasrullah Baloch, chairman Voice for Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP)

Staff Report

The need of the hour is to stop the military operation at once. The Frontier Corps (FC) has terrorised the Baloch for many years now. It is time to stop their brutal activities. Kidnapping, torturing and murdering our own Baloch brethren is not something that can be allowed to take place. Baloch insurgents have taken up arms in frustration. The calls for "˜freedom' are a result of the FC's "˜kill and dump' policy.

QUETTA: Voice For Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP) Chairman Nasurllah Baloch rejected on Monday a crises management report, which claimed that there was no evidence involving secret agencies and security forces in the practices of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at a hunger strike camp outside the Quetta Press Club. He alleged that the crises management report was biased and did not take into consideration the ground realities of Balochistan. "The majority of the relatives of Baloch missing persons had registered their cases against the Frontier Corps (FC) and other security agencies. Even they recorded their statements that FC men in uniform raided the houses and arrested people. Some activists were picked up near the FC checkposts while some were whisked away from main bazaars," he said, adding that 150 cases of missing persons had been lodged in the Balochistan High Court, while 100 had been lodged in the Supreme Court.

"All the international and national humanitarian organisations off and on highlighted the issue of missing persons that were kidnapped by security forces," Nasrullah Baloch said.

He said that the chief justice of Supreme Court should fulfil his promise that he made with the relatives of missing persons that their loved ones would be recovered and that he would personally take up this humanitarian issue. "It is regrettable that many years have passed, but no serious move has been made by the judiciary," he said.

He stated that as many as 234 bullet-riddled bodies of Baloch missing persons had been found in the last 14 months and that the missing persons' list was lengthening with every passing day. Currently, more than 14,000 people are still missing, he claimed.

He also rejected the offer for compensation announced by the federal government in light of Supreme Court orders. "We do not want compensation, but our loved ones. Our demand is only to that missing people be returned and tried in a court of law." He torched the forms provided by the federal government for compensation money in protest.