QUETTA: Baloch rights activist Abdul Qadeer Baloch passed away on Saturday in a Quetta hospital after a prolonged illness.
He served as the vice chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), which set up a camp years ago on Quetta’s Adalat Road, a site that has long stood as a symbol of protest against enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch confirmed the rights activist’s passing to Dawn, saying: “He had been ill for a long time and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Quetta for the past two months.”
The group’s chairman added that the funeral prayers and burial would be performed on Sunday in Shaheed Sikanderabad district.
Baloch said the deceased’s struggle had remained prominent in human rights circles across the country.
In November 2011, Qadeer received the mutilated body of his son, Jalil Reiki, who was the information secretary of the Baloch Republican Party. The kidnapping and subsequent death of his son further galvanised the advocacy group, strengthening its efforts to support families enduring similar tragedies.
In 2013, the activist led a long march on foot from Quetta to Islamabad, joined by other Baloch men and women, to protest against enforced disappearances.
Since its inception, VBMP has raised its voice against the enforced disappearances of students, political activists and other civilians.
‘Legacy will endure’
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) mourned the death and paid homage to the deceased activist.
“His legacy will endure in the countless families he stood beside. We reiterate that the state must take concerted action to restore the rights for which Mama spent decades campaigning.”
Advocate Rahab Khan Buledi, chairman of the Balochistan Bar Council’s Executive Committee, paid tribute to Qadeer in a statement.
“Mama Qadeer Baloch had been peacefully struggling for the recovery of missing persons for a long time. His democratic struggle is commendable. He was a strong voice of the oppressed,“ he said, adding that the council also paid homage to him.
