HYDERABAD, May 22: Although the body of Muzaffar Bhutto was found near here on Tuesday, a number of other activists, among them members of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), remain untraced.

Muzaffar’s case is the first in Sindh in which a missing person’s bullet-riddled body has been found.

Families of missing persons continue to strive for their recovery. Some families have even opted for a legal fight.

Most senior officials believe the JSMM, headed by Shafi Burfat, was behind the bomb explosions on railway tracks on May 2.

A number of JSMM activists were picked up after the bombings. Among them was Faqir Najeeb Qureshi, chief of its Hyderabad chapter.

“My wife has been speechless ever since she was informed about the death of Muzaffar Bhutto, who was my maternal cousin,” said Rafiq Ahmed Bhutto, who works at Jamshoro thermal powerhouse.

Asif Bhutto, his son, was picked up on May 16 from the Powerhouse Colony. “Police beat up my son before taking him away. He was not even allowed to put on his shirt,” Asif said.

Endless visits to police stations have been futile, Asif Bhutto said. “I and my wife now fear for my son’s life after learning about Muzaffar Bhutto’s fate,” he told Dawn over phone.

He denied that his son was associated with the JSMM. “I am an office-bearer of People’s Labour Bureau.”

On May 19, a missing person, Qurban Sodhro of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, was thrown out of a vehicle near Hala Naka. He managed to get to Civil Hospital, which admitted him for treatment of an abdominal problem. But a fear overtook Sodhro that police were after him, forcing him to flee the hospital in panic.

Most activists are kept incommunicado after being picked up. They are not produced in any court even after several months of detention during which they are grilled for alleged sabotage activities.

Perhaps no activist has so far been convicted in any such case by a court.

Afzal Panwhar had gone missing from Sindh University while Sanaullah Bhatti disappeared 10 months ago.

“Saima Bhutto, wife of Muzaffar Bhutto, had met Asma Jehangir and informed her about her husband’s disappearance,” said Dr Ashothama of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s task force for Sindh. He added that Saima did have an apprehension that her husband might be murdered in captivity.

Ahsan Ghaffar Malano went missing on Nov 17 last year. According to his counsel, Ishrat Lohar, Malano was freed three months ago.

Malano disappeared after attending a hearing in a case under the explosives act in Kotri and was due to return to Karachi.

Babar Hussain Jamali of Badin, who is a JSMM sympathiser, was intercepted allegedly by policemen near Hatri bypass on Dec 8. His father denied that his son was a member of the JSMM.