Justice Delayed, Justice Denied: Baloch Families Mark 24th Day of Sit-in, Awaiting Government Action

  Islamabad : The protest staged by families of the Baloch missing persons near the National Press Club Islamabad has entered its 24th consecutive day. So far no government official yet engaging with the demonstrators. The families — many of whom are women, children, and elderly citizens — have endured intense heat, heavy rain, and extreme humidity, holding aloft pictures of their missing loved ones, demanding answers, the reporter observed. Their demands remain are cleared, they want release of leadership of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and the recovery of missing Baloch individuals, with fair judicial proceedings. Nadia Lahno the sister of Mahrang Lahno talking to Tawar-e-Pakistan said they want fair trails of all missing personals. She added her sisiter and other BYC leadership are behind the bars just because of raising voice for Balochistan’s people. “We have had only one demand for the past 24 days — the recovery of our missing persons and the release of the BYC leaders,” said Nadia said. Earlier, on August 4, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) took notice of the situation. Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar directed the city administration to initiate dialogue with the protesters to resolve the issue peacefully. However, despite the court’s instructions, no government representative has approached the protestors. Many participants have travelled from remote areas of Balochistan, driven by years of grief and the persistent hope of finding their missing family members. Iman Mizari, lawyer turned human right activists said “The government must take notice and help these people. She added “We will not leave until our demands are met. To a question she said we have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to immediately release Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and other detained leaders of BYC. To a question regarding dialogue, she said we are ready to sit with any representatives of Cabinet, who have some authority to take decision. She said so far no representative of government turned to them, “they are unheard” .