Sobbing female family members of five persons, allegedly taken away by the intelligence agencies appealed to President Musharraf and human right bodies to help in their recovery.
Five females, including two in their early 20s and covering their face, told a news conference at the Parliament House, how were they undergoing a constant agony after the 'abduction' of their near and dear ones.
Daughter of Masood Janjua, an educationist and businessman, Mana'al and his spouse Amina, carrying his photographs, wondered when will he turn up? Janjua went missing on July 30, 2005 from Rawalpindi.
"My children keep on asking me one question: where is our father? Why does not he return home? And I have no answer to these questions. Please help me find my husband," bemoaned Amina Janjua, covering her head with a scarf, as her young daughter (hardly two-years-old) kept displaying her father's photograph towards cameras while suckling her thumb.
Her 10-year-old daughter Ayesha, with an impassive look, distributed a press release among journalists and tried to calm down her younger sister who all of a sudden started crying.
Amina Janjua said that she had received a call from the President House, assuring her that Janjua was well and would be freed soon. She said she got reply of a letter after nine months' wait, but it also gave them no hope. Her meeting with the president also could not help end her misery.
Likewise, Attiqur Rehman (scientist) was whisked away on July 25, 2004. The lone mother of Faisal Faraz said that her son was 'abducted' on the day of his marriage on July 30, 2005 from Rawalpindi. He is a mechanical engineer.
"I was alright before the missing of my son. But now I suffer from high blood pressure and have developed cardiac complications," complained Faisal's mother.
Majid Khan, the husband of Rabia, has not been seen or heard of since March 2003, when he was taken away from Karachi. Khan has been handed over to the United States. Mansoor Khan also went missing from Peshawar three years ago and since then his family members have no information about his whereabouts.
The female family members complained that they were told by different quarters that they were in the custody of authorities, but they were denied meeting with them or even a telephonic contact.
"How can our country move forward, when talented youth is being arrested under mysterious circumstances," they complained. They disputed the government claim of promoting human rights, asking how it can be claimed, when even female citizens are being denied their basic right of seeing their loved ones, keeping them in illegal confinement without any reason.
Later, they held a demonstration outside the Parliament House, demanding early recovery of their loved ones. They contended that it was the government's prime responsibility to protect the citizens. "Even if they have committed any wrong, which we simply can't believe, they should be produced in courts and legal proceedings initiated," they contended.