Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh Demands Immediate Release of JSMM Leader Rohail Laghari

Karachi
Sorath Lohar, Convenor of the Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh (VMPS), along with Deputy Convenor Sindhu Aman Chandio and Finance Secretary Sasui Lohar, in a strongly worded joint statement, has vehemently condemned the alleged enforced disappearance of Rohail Laghari, a central leader of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), in Sindh, Pakistan, and demanded his immediate, unconditional, and safe release.

According to the statement, Rohail Laghari was allegedly abducted by state agencies on 29 April 2026 from his residence in District Tando Muhammad Khan, Sindh, Pakistan. Since that day, his family, friends, and political colleagues have been left in absolute darkness, with no information whatsoever regarding his whereabouts, legal status, or physical and mental well-being. The statement expressed deep alarm that he continues to remain forcibly disappeared, raising serious fears of unlawful detention.

VMPS office bearers stated that enforced disappearances in Sindh have escalated into a grave and systematic human rights crisis, spreading fear, intimidation, and insecurity among political workers, students, intellectuals, and civil society activists. They alleged that numerous Sindhi political activists have, over the years, been subjected to arbitrary detention, harassment, and enforced disappearances without due legal process or judicial oversight.

The VMPS activists stressed that the disappearance of Rohail Laghari is not merely an attack on an individual political activist, but a blatant violation of fundamental human rights guaranteed under international law, including the right to liberty, security, freedom of expression, and the right to due legal process. They emphasized that no state institution has any lawful authority to carry out secret detentions or to deny families information about the fate of their loved ones.

They urgently appealed to Amnesty International, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, the European Parliament, and all international human rights bodies to immediately intervene in this matter and exert pressure on the Pakistani authorities to disclose Rohail Laghari’s whereabouts without delay and ensure his safe and unconditional release.