Abdul Qadeer Reki, widely known as Mama Qadeer Baloch, a towering figure in the struggle against enforced disappearances in Balochistan, was laid to rest today in his ancestral town of Surab Kechi Beg.
Mama Qadeer, 85, passed away yesterday at Arya Hospital in Quetta after a prolonged illness. His funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners, including human rights activists, political leaders, tribal elders, women and members of the general public.
Mama Qadeer Baloch was a retired bank employee who emerged as an iconic advocate for the families of forcibly disappeared persons in Balochistan. His activism began in 2009 after his son, Jalil Reki, a leader of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces. This personal tragedy transformed Mama Qadeer into a leading voice against enforced disappearances.
Although the body of Jalil Reki was later recovered, Mama Qadeer remained steadfast in his struggle, continuing to campaign for the recovery of missing persons and accountability for human rights violations.
For 16 years, he led hunger strike camps in Quetta and Karachi, keeping the issue of enforced disappearances in the public eye.
In 2013, Mama Qadeer and Farzana Majeed Baloch, the sister of disappeared student leader Zakir Majeed Baloch, undertook a historic long march of nearly 3,000 kilometres on foot from Quetta to Karachi and onward to Islamabad, protesting enforced disappearances, the recovery of mutilated bodies and serious human rights violations in Balochistan.
He also carried his campaign to international forums, visiting the United States, Europe, and Geneva to brief global human rights organisations on the situation in Balochistan.
Mama Qadeer served as Vice Chairman of the human rights organisation Voice for Baloch Missing Persons and remained actively engaged in advocacy until his final days. His passing has been widely mourned across Balochistan and beyond.
Various Baloch political parties, human rights groups, and student organisations paid rich tributes to Mama Qadeer, recognising his decades-long struggle and his role as the voice of victims’ families. Prominent political and social personalities from Balochistan also attended the funeral.
Leaders and activists of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), including its chairman Manzoor Pashteen, paid tribute to Mama Qadeer Baloch, describing him as a symbol of peaceful resistance and resilience. Manzoor Pashteen praised Mama Qadeer for dedicating his life to justice, stating that his struggle against enforced disappearances inspired movements across ethnic and regional lines.
As Mama Qadeer Baloch was laid to rest, mourners vowed to continue his mission of seeking justice for the enforced disappeared and accountability for human rights violations. His legacy as a steadfast defender of human dignity and a voice for the voiceless will continue to inspire generations.
