QUETTA: Unidentified individuals set fire to the main camp of the Voice for Baloch Missing Per­sons (VBMP) near Quetta Press Club on Wednesday.

The camp, established years ago on Adalat Road, has long been a symbol of protest against enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

VBMP Vice Chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch said that unknown persons ignited the fire late at night, damaging three sides of the camp. However, he said no one was inside at the time.

“This is the third time the camp has been set ablaze,” Mama Qadeer said, adding that while the previous two incidents caused minimal damage, this latest fire destroyed the tent completely.

The camp has been active for over 5,600 days, a record Mama Qadeer said would not be broken by such intimidation. “These tactics cannot force us to abandon our peaceful struggle for the recovery of missing persons,” he said.

Since its inception, VBMP has raised its voice against the enforced disappearances of students, political activists and other civilians, even staging a long march from Karachi to Islamabad by foot. “Police should arrest the elements involved in burning the missing persons’ camp,” Mama Qadeer demanded.

Officials said a case would be registered and CCTV footage from the area would be reviewed as part of the investigation.

Meanwhile, a National Party delegation, led by the party’s Balochistan President Aslam Baloch, visited the site to meet Mama Qadeer and express their concern.

National Party leaders criticised the camp burning as an absurd act against a lawful protest and highlighted other recent incidents, such as the toppling of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s statue in Panjgur and the desecration of graves, as “part of an ongoing state policy against Baloch people”.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2024