Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) Bajaur organised the protest.

The protesters demanded the recovery of the missing persons.

A large number of people are participating in PTM protest #BajaurStandForPeace, held today in District Bajaur for the release of missing Persons.
They demanded to #EndEnforcedDisappearances & #ReleaseMissingPersons pic.twitter.com/tWsFCPt4IM

— Naimat Ullah Wazir (@NaimatUllahWazi) April 18, 2023

According to a report released by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIOED) in July 2022, a total of 8,696 cases of missing persons have been reported. While 6,513 of these cases have been solved, 2,219 are still pending. Among the missing persons, the majority of people are from Baloch and Pashtun ethnicities.

However, human rights activists claim the number is much higher than this.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had expressed concerns over the “state’s widespread use of enforced disappearances” in Balochistan to muzzle dissent.

In its fact-finding report, titled: “Balochistan’s struggle for Hope”, the human rights watchdog had noted that there have been continued reports of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and there was no improvement in the situation since 2019 when the HRCP’s team visited the last.

“The HRCP notes with considerable alarm that Balochistan faces mounting public frustration pertaining to enforced disappearances, economic exclusion, curbs on press freedom, misgovernance and allegations of political manipulation by the establishment”, the report had said.

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Organised by Bajaur Peace Action Committee, the march was attended by people from all walks of life including political workers, social activists, and traders.

The demonstration was addressed by Awami National Party (ANP) provincial general secretary Sardar Hussin Babak, National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief MNA Mohsin Dawar, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) head Manzoor Pashteen, MPA Nisar Momand among others.

The speakers lamented that the ongoing wave of terrorism has given rise to yet another phase of destruction in KP, especially in the tribal areas. They added that the people of KP would stand up firmly against all attempts to turn their areas into ‘battlefields’.

Rejecting the notion that Pashtuns are sympathetic towards Taliban, the speakers said the people want to protect the hard-earned peace and retain the normalcy that was achieved after decades of war in the region.

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