KARACHI, Feb 24: Speakers at a demonstration on Saturday condemned the ‘forced disappearance’ of a nationalist leader, Dr Safdar Sarki, and others nationalist activists, and demanded their immediate release or recovery.

The demonstration was organised by the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz to observe completion of one year of illegal detention of Dr Sarki who, according to the speakers, had been picked up by government agencies personnel from near his Gulistan-i-Jauhar residence.

They claimed that the leader had been whisked away by the New Town police personnel on Feb 24, 2005 and since than, he had not been produced before any court while the police were denying having picked him up.

They said that if Dr Sarki, Aakash Malah, Asif Buledi, G. M. Bhagat and many other activists who had been picked up long ago were required in any case, the authorities should adopt the legal course by declaring them arrested and putting them on trial.

They maintained that picking up someone in a kidnap style was a violation of basic human right and against the relevant provisions of the Constitution, besides a violation of various international human rights conventions signed by the government.

They deplored that police were resisting even prime minister’s directive who had recently ordered registration of FIRs for all those who had disappeared. They demanded that relatives of all such detained people be allowed to meet the detainees and arrange lawyers for their trial.

The speakers condemned the continuing military operation in Balochistan, and demanded that the all ‘fabricated’ cases instituted against former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal be withdrawn and the operation be stopped immediately.

They said the rulers had not learnt any lesson from the history and were committing the same mistakes that they had committed in the past and resultantly caused dismemberment of Pakistan.

They said that owing to such actions of Punjab and army, the federation was getting weaker and this was evident from the fact that the government itself was now talking of provincial autonomy. However, they said, the time for provincial autonomy had lapsed.

The speakers said that political activists of Balochistan and Sindh believed in the philosophy of non-violence. They said that they would not be provoked by the atrocities being meted out to them, and would struggle peacefully till achieving the goal.

They urged media, particularly the Urdu-language press, to rise above the linguistic and ethnic prejudices and highlight a true picture of the situation being faced by the suppressed people.

JSQM chief Bashir Qureshi, Khalil Ansari, Aziz Gul, Illahi Bukhsh Bikak, Bashir Khaskheli, Punhal Larak, Akram Baloch and Nooruddin Jamali were among the speakers. The protesters, including women and children, were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands.