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Hundreds marched in Karachi on Friday to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, carrying banners of loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared or killed.<\/p>\n
On December 21, 2010, the UN General Assembly, through a resolution<\/a>, voiced deep concern over the rise in enforced disappearances worldwide, including related arrests, detentions, and abductions, as well as the harassment and intimidation of witnesses and relatives of the disappeared.<\/p>\n The resolution also welcomed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and established August 30 as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to be observed from 2011 onward.<\/p>\n The 40-minute, nearly three-kilometre walk from Teen Talwar to Karachi Press Club was a microcosm of a growing nationwide movement, uniting communities that have fallen victim to the decades-long issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually, when you have people coming out, the Baloch will come out for the Baloch, Pakhtun will come out for Pakhtun, Sindhi for Sindhi,\u201d academic and activist Nida Kirmani said to Dawn.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this event, we have all of the affected communities together. And to be honest, there\u2019s no community in Pakistan that\u2019s not affected by the practice of enforced disappearances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The march \u2014 punctuated by slogans of \u201cwe want justice\u201d \u2014 brought together several families of missing persons, long-time human rights activists, lawyers, and civilians.<\/p>\n Usman Baloch, 86, was at the forefront of the march and sloganeering, just as he has been for the issue for the last 60 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives me immense hope to see young people coming out and leading marches and revolutions like this,\u201d the veteran labour leader told Dawn.com<\/em> as he pointed to a group of young Baloch girls marching ahead of him.<\/p>\n The girls, some as young as 12, were following in the footsteps of prominent activists like Sammi Deen Baloch<\/a>, who has become the face of the movement in recent years.<\/p>\n Sammi and Dr Mahrang Baloch<\/a> have been at the forefront of national movements to end enforced disappearances, leading rallies and protests within Balochistan and across the nation where thousands<\/a> have marched behind them.<\/p>\n Women were wearing face masks with Mahrang and Sammi\u2019s pictures printed on them, chanting their names in support as they marched on Clifton Bridge and made their way to KPC.<\/p>\n Dozens flocked to Sammi for photos just seconds after she delivered a 15-minute speech that was met with frequent applause and chants.<\/p>\n A prominent slogan in every march has been to let the law run its course rather than kidnapping people without a trace or justification of any sort.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our loved ones have done anything wrong, there is the law. You can give them the death penalty if that\u2019s what is meted out, but at least give us back their bodies,\u201d Elahi Bux Bikik, a long-time activist from Sindh, said to roaring applause from the crowd.<\/p>\n Qazi Khizer, vice-president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)\u2019s Sindh Chapter, echoed the same sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cAll those who have committed a crime should be presented in the courts,\u201d he told Dawn.com<\/em>, \u201cand those who have not committed any crime should be released\u201d.<\/p>\n