Missing persons’ families end protest outside President Alvi’s residence

Families of ‘missing persons’ belonging to the Shia community ended their sit-in outside President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi’s residence in the Bahadurabad neighborhood on its 13th day on Friday after they were reportedly informed about the whereabouts of some of the missing persons along with the recovery of some persons who had gone missing for the past several months.

The relatives of 'missing persons’ from the Shia community had been protesting outside President Alvi's residence since April 28, demanding the recovery of their loved ones.

According to the organisers of the sit-in, they ended their protest after the authorities and law enforcement agencies assured them that the missing persons would be produced in courts. Earlier, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Federal Minister Ali Zaidi and other officials had held talks with the protesters but they did not yield any positive results and the protest continued.

Rashid Rizvi Advocate, the sit-in’s main organiser, said the whereabouts of 10 people, including four people who had been 'missing' for the past three to four years, had been made known and their families allowed to meet them. He added that the recovered persons had either been handed over to police or produced before anti-terrorism courts.

The organisers also claimed that because of their campaign, at least 12 people had been released and some eight more would be released by today (Saturday).

Various political leaders and rights activist visited the sit-in during its 13 days to show solidarity with the protesters. They included former MNA Dr Farooq Sattar, rights activist Jibran Nasir, National Human Rights Commission member Anis Haroon, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Asad Iqbal Butt, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research’s Karamat Ali, Tehreek-e-Niswan’s Sheema Kermani and activists Naghma Iqtidar, Aabida Ali and Qurat Mirza.

On Thursday, the protestors distributed Iftar and flowers among the residents of the neighbourhood to express gratitude for their cooperation and apologise to them for causing them inconvenience due to the protest.