HYDERABAD: Activists of human rights organisations staged demonstrations, walks and rallies in a number of Sindh towns on Thursday to highlight the issue of missing persons as they observed the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Scores of rights activists gathered outside the press club in Hyderabad and held protest under the aegis of special task force of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

The protesters led by HRCP task force head Ghufrana Arain, council members Badar Soomro, Parveen Soomro, social activists Zulfiqar Halepoto, Ali Palh advocate, Imdad Chandio and others demanded that federal and provincial governments should play their role in ensuringrecovery of missing persons, which totaled 3,500 including 249 of Sindh.

They argued that if the missing persons were guilty of any crime, they should be produced in court as it was their fundamental right.

Their prolonged disappearance was causing unrest among their families but unfortunately the state did not appear to be doing anything to lessen their suffer-ing, they regretted.

They said the families had filed many petitions in courts but in vain and said that most missing persons were associated with nationalist parties while someworkers of political parties had also disappeared over the years.

Later, a dialogue was organised on the subject in which families of missing persons also took part.SANGHAR: HR activists, members of civil society and nationalist parties observed token hunger stril(e in Shahdadpur in protest against enforced disappearancesin Sindh.The protesters led by advocate Ghulam Murtaza Soomaro, Wazir Kalohro and others demanded the government should recover all missing persons, including nationalist, politicaland HR activists, writers and others who had `disappeared`.

The protest was organised to coincide with the international day of victims ofenforced disappearance.