Relatives of 'missing persons' on Thursday continued their sit-in outside President Arif Alvi's residence in Karachi's PECHS area for the fifth consecutive day.

Rashid Rizvi, one of the participants of the demonstration, told Dawn that there were a total of 66 victims of enforced disappearances in the country, of which 47 were from Karachi.

"Some of them were taken away as recently as two months ago while the whereabouts of others are unknown for the past five years," he said.

Rizvi reiterated the protesters' demand that missing persons be immediately released and legal action be taken against the personnel responsible for their disappearance.

He said that Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi, had met the families of the 'missing persons' three days ago and had sought a list of the victims but so far, no concrete action has been taken.

Editorial: Little progress on missing persons

Meanwhile, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) today announced that the party would hold country-wide protests in support of the families of the 'missing persons' after Friday prayers.

MWM Pakistan leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafferi, in a statement, said that they support the participants of the sit-in, and demanded that the authorities take notice of such violations of human rights.

He said that if any of the 'missing persons' had committed any crime, they should be presented before the court, and urged the president to play his role for the fulfillment of the protesters' demands.