Countrywide sit-ins to be staged today for recovery of Shia missing persons

As part of its strategy to put pressure on the government and the law enforcement agencies to recover missing persons from the Shia community, the Joint Action Committee for Shia Missing Persons has announced it will stage sit-ins across the country today.

The announcement was made on Saturday by leaders of the action committee on the second day of an ongoing sit-in protest in front of the Mazar-e-Quaid.

The Joint Action Committee, a joint platform of representative organisations of the Shia community, had given an ultimatum to the government to produce all missing persons in court by March 31. “After receiving no positive response from the government, the committee announced the start of a protest from April 2,” said the sit-in organisers.

At a press conference held at the sit-in camp, committee leaders Allama Ahmad Iqbal Rizvi, Allama Nazir Abbas Taqwa, Maulana Haider Abbas Abidi, Maulana Dr Aqeel Musa, Allama Kamran Abidi, Allama Nisar Qalandari, Allama Ali Anwar Jafari and Allama Mubashir Hassan, said the organising the sit-in in front of the Mazar-e-Quaid was the part of the first phase of the protest for the recovery of missing persons of the community.

“On Sunday (today), similar sit-in protests will be held across the country where all Shia groups have assured their full support and participation in large numbers to show solidarity with the protesters,” said Rizvi, who is also the Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen’s central deputy secretary-general.

He said the Shia community in the United States, Britain, Europe and the Arab world were in constant contact with the action committee and were ready to stage demonstrations in their countries in support of the protesters’ demand for the recovery of the missing persons. “It will soon turn into a global movement,” he said.

Rizvi said the main objective of the protest was to bring the issue of the missing persons to light. “We are hopeful the country’s all power institutions, including the prime minister, the army chief and the judiciary, will take notice of it,” he said.

Rizvi said the families of missing persons had been knocking on doors of every relevant authority but they had not got any serious response from anywhere.

The purpose of holding the sit-in in front of the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam was to express their grief before the founder of Pakistan.