January 14, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 13, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 13: The whereabouts of the twenty people, including office-bearers of the CBA of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and their associates, are still unknown exactly a month after their disappearance from a hotel of Karachi from where they are believed to have been picked up by the sleuths of an intelligence agency.

The CBA delegation from Sui was in the city reportedly to sign an agreement with the management of the petroleum company.

A spokesman for the company confirmed that a few meetings were held between representatives of the CBA and the PPL managements in the first week of December and similar other meetings were scheduled, but could not be held following their disappearance.

On Tuesday, when contacted by Dawn, the spokesman for the PPL said: “We have not heard from them and they are still missing.”

Perturbed families of the missing persons jointly held a press conference in Sui a week after their disappearance to voice their concern, but they have so far not heard from their bread winners.

Those who had been picked up included Mirza Shaukat, President, Ghulam Muhammad Bugti, Vice-President, Niaz Ahmed Shaikh, Vice-President, Sher Muhammad Bugti, General Secretary, Saifuddin Bugti, Deputy-General Secretary, Niaz Ahmed Bugti, Joint-Secretaty, Khuda Bux, Treasurer. Members of the Executive Council Habibullah Shaikh, Mir Ahmed, Waqar Ahmed, Umeed Ali, Mehmood Bugti, Hameed Bugti and Nadeem Asghar. Tanveer Ahmed, President PPL (Punjab) and Hakim Ali, President Kandhkot, were also picked up from the same hotel.

Others accompanying the CBA members and also believed to have been picked up included Haji Ajaz, Haji Taj Muhammad, Abdul Aziz and Faiz Muhammad Bugti.

On December 9, JWP spokesman Senator Amanullah Kanrani criticized the action and that alleged hundreds of political activists had been detained by intelligence agencies in Balochistan.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club.