Call for recovery of Wahid Baloch

LAHORE – Civil society activists yesterday called for recovery of Baloch poet, social worker, and publisher who went ‘missing’ three months ago.

Abdul Wahid Baloch, according to his family, was picked up by law enforcement agencies from Karachi Superhighway on July 26.

Dozens of civil society activists including relatives of Wahid gathered outside the Lahore Press Club and staged a protest demonstration, demanding the authorities to release the man.

Hunger strike: ‘Bring back all missing persons’

LAHORE: Under a tent in a small green belt across the Lahore Press Club, young students from Balochistan studying at various public universities across Lahore were on a hunger strike from 10 am to 10 pm on Wednesday. They demanded the release of all missing persons, including Baloch Student Organization (Azad) Chairman Zahid Baloch who disappeared on March 18.

Feature: The road less travelled

by Irfan Aslam

“As a child, I used to dream of coming to Lahore to study in its universities but look what fate has brought me here for,” remarks Farzana Majeed, a member of Mama Qadeer’s Voice of Baloch Missing People’s (VBMP) long march.

“Only a few people came out to respond to the cries of the Baloch in a Lahore of 20 million people. This city does not seem to feel our pain,” she said while addressing a gathering in front of the Punjab Union of Journalists’ office.

Where were you Lahore, when we were protesting for our missing Baloch brethren?

I attended the long march of the Baloch Voice for Missing Persons (BVMP) in Lahore to show my solidarity with the cause. I was amongst the journalists who came from various news organisations to document a critical portion of the walk that had departed from Quetta last year.

The protestors were entering the capital of Punjab. The reception they got here could mirror the reception they receive in Islamabad.

The walk had caused quite a stir among those who followed the story behind it. The protest walk, led by Mama Qadeer Baloch, the vice president of the BVMP, received due press attention at each stop they made. When they entered Punjab, excitement over the growing popularity of the cause grew.

#VBMPLongMarch: Lahoris disappoint campaigners for Baloch missing persons’ cause

LAHORE: “As many as 18,000 people from Balochistan are unaccounted for. More than 2,000 mutilated bodies have been found. I will provide the list of names to the United Nations officials when the caravan reaches Islamabad. We will also organise a protest and sit-in,” said Mama Qadeer on Thursday at the Punjab Union of Journalists’ office at Diyal Singh Mansion on The Mall.

Qadeer has been leading the protest and the march of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons.

“I have received my son’s body. He had been tortured. My seven-year-old grandson, present here, has been orphaned. What was his crime?” Qadeer asked. He also mentioned Qasim, a 14 year old boy from Turbat, who had disappeared a few days ago.

Gas pipeline blown up in Balochistan

Occupied Balochistan: An 18-inch Sui gas pipeline was blown up in the early hours of Sunday in the Uch area of Balochistan, DawnNews reported.

According to the report, the explosion suspended gas supply to the Uch power plant in Balochistan causing a reduction of more than 525 megawatts of power generation.

As a result, electricity supply in many areas in Lahore and Punjab has been shelved.