'Kayani uncle please bring my papa back...I want him home, please help me out I appeal you', reads a placard in the hands of an innocent child, who knows nothing of statecraft, at a camp for recovery of missing persons, set up by Defence of Human Rights Pakistan (DHRP) at D-Square.
The appeal of the little child was directed to one of the world's most powerful man - General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Chief of Army Staff, with the hope that he might be instrumental in bringing his father back. The protesters were women, children (including babies), and elderly people. Some of them can be seen crying, holding placards inscribed with, 'Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chadhary is the last ray of hope', 'Justice delayed is justice denied' etc.
Cradled in the arms of her veiled mother, the two-month-old Barira is also attending the missing persons' camp for having a glimpse of her missing father, allegedly picked by officials of sleuth agencies from Karachi on May 7, 2011. With eyes full of tears, Nishaf Batool, wife of one Azhar Iqbal, who is missing for last nine months, said: "My hubby is missing...I've come here along with my little daughter. I won't go back until they release my daughter's father...what was his fault, why he'd been picked up? Please be afraid of God's wrath as He sees what you people are doing with us for no reasons".
The wife of a retired army major, Owais Asadi, said that her husband is missing since October 15, 2010. My husband is a retired army officer, she added, I could not believe anybody else could dare pick him up except the spy agencies. This is just cruel...the army is too far, my hubby had not done any harm to even an ant, she burst into tears.
The protest camp, in which over 50 families of missing persons are participating to lodge their protest with the government for recovery of their dear and near ones, allegedly kidnapped by spy agencies, entered its 8th day. Amina Masood Janjua, who is also chairperson of DHRP - a non-governmental organisation for recovery of missing persons, said that they were not given any encouraging response from the government, which forced them to go on hunger strike for indefinite period.
We will continue the (peaceful) protest till recovery of our dear ones, she said, adding that the government has become a silent spectator and no single minister has bothered even to visit the camp except a parliamentary secretary for human right, who also did lip service.
She said that the number of missing persons has reached 1100. After seeing the protest on televisions, about 55 more names have been registered with DHRP, who went missing but not a leaf of grass moved in the power corridor. Janjua said that the campaign has been quite successful as some four missing persons have been released by unknown persons during the week as a result of the protest. The missing persons, who have been recovered, included Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdul Rehman, Waqas and Engineer Bashir Ahmed.
About four missing persons, who were presented before the Supreme Court last week by the intelligence agencies she said, were under treatment in Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar and their families were allowed to meet them after apex court directives. Janjua said that her organisation (DHRP) has decided to continue the protest unless all the missing persons are recovered.
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