Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement calls for release of missing persons on International Day of Enforced Disappearances

On August 30, as the United Nations observes the International Day for Enforced Disappearances, Sohail Abro, Chairman of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM), alongside Zubair Sindhi, Amar Azadi, and other officials, has issued a joint statement calling for the release of all Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtoon missing persons.

The statement highlights that the day is dedicated to acknowledging and addressing the plight of individuals who have been forcibly disappeared by state institutions.

Abro and his colleagues emphasise the global solidarity shown today for missing persons and urge international attention to the ongoing issue. According to the statement, victims of enforced disappearances in Sindh are often political activists who are detained by state agencies and subjected to various forms of torture.

The abuses include severe physical mistreatment such as hanging, waterboarding, and other brutal practices. The statement lists several activists who have reportedly been killed or subjected to such violence, including Muzaffar Bhutto, Maqsood Qureshi, and Sami Ullah Kalhoro, among others.

The document notes that since 2002, over five thousand Sindhi freedom fighters have been reported missing, which the officials deem a grave human rights violation. Recently, on August 14, national activists Javed Mangrio, Zahid Channa, Sanwal Sindhi, and Afaq Abbasi were reportedly injured by Hyderabad police and sent to a local hospital.

Additionally, on August 19, 2024, Goro Sindhi (also known as Jamil Shoro), a central leader of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement, was attacked and shot by state agents while en route to meet injured activists. He later died in Karachi’s Trauma Centre.

The statement also addresses the broader scale of state oppression affecting other regions of Pakistan. It notes that around 22,000 Baloch and 4,000 Pashtun national workers have been forcibly disappeared. Furthermore, Saraiki, Gilgiti, and Kashmiri activists are also reported missing in significant numbers.

Recently, nine bodies of Baloch national activists, who were allegedly tortured and killed, were discovered in various cities of Balochistan. On this International Day of Disappearance, the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement appeals to the international community, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, to take action to locate and recover the missing workers from Pakistani state institutions, said the statement.