KARACHI, Dec 7: As some missing persons were produced before the Supreme Court in Islamabad on Saturday, relatives of Baloch missing men sitting at a protest camp outside the Karachi Press Club were disappointed to find that their loved ones were not among them.

Qadir Baloch of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons characterised the entire episode as a ‘farce’.

“It seems suspicious that all of a sudden the authorities produced the missing persons. If that was the case then what took them (authorities) so long? Also, has anyone informed their families yet?” he asked.

On her part, Zohra Yusuf of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also termed the situation suspicious, saying the identity of those produced was not clear.

But, she added, “I won’t call it a farce, because apart from Balochistan a large number of people are missing from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. And this is a sign that something is happening.”

She said the basic hurdle in the case was the “absence of the Frontier Corps inspector general”. So, the continuing disappointment faced by the Baloch families was understandable.

“But, whether those missing will actually be found, depends on how persistently the Supreme Court follows up even after the chief justice’s retirement,” she added.