The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) on Wednesday announced it has temporarily ended its protest camp after nearly 10 years following assurances from the Balochistan government regarding the recovery of their missing relatives.
The protest camp set up outside the Quetta Press Club has been suspended after 3,464 days for a period of two months on the assurance of Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani and his cabinet members; VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch told a news conference in the provincial capital today.
“We have taken the issue of missing persons seriously and are committed to sort this problem out,” Alyani said at the press conference held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Home Minister Balochistan Mir Zia Langove, VBMP vice chairman Mama Qadeer and others were also present on the occasion.
The chief minister said they had “sought two months” time from the protesters, and reiterated his government’s sincerity to resolve the issue of missing persons.
VBMP chairman revealed that more than 250 missing persons have returned to their homes since the new government took office in Balochistan last year. Mama Qadeer said that 11 missing persons had recently returned home in Balochistan after VBMP established contact with the provincial government. Qadeer cautioned, however, that the protest camp would be resumed if the government failed to recover the missing persons as promised.
Published in Daily Times, January 17th 2019.
