Sir: I want to highlight a very serious problem related to missing persons. A few days ago, there was a picture on the front page of Daily Times captioned as, “Quetta! Seeking Justice.” In this picture, one old man and an old women sit outside the Supreme Court’s Quetta Registry to hear the case of missing persons. Here, I want to quote the Chief of Army Staff’s (COAS) statement, which he issued while addressing the ceremony of Youm-e-Shuhada at the General Headquarters on Monday. The COAS said, “The primary objective of a democratic system should be the welfare and prosperity of people besides creating a balanced society with equal opportunities of justice. It is the only way to further strengthen Pakistan’s national security.” General Kayani is right in his perception. There should be equal opportunities of justice for every citizen of the state without consideration of colour, creed, religion, and race. Then, I ask, who is responsible for the atrocities meted out to the Baloch? The relatives of missing persons blame the security agencies for their agonies but the latter deny these allegations. If we consider for a while that the security agencies are not responsible in the case of missing persons, then who is responsible for the security of the citizens? Pakistan army is doing a great deal for the social and economic uplift of the common people of Balochistan but at the same time, many people are missing. This is not a good sign for Pakistan’s national security. If we want Pakistan to be a prosperous welfare state then we should create equal opportunities of justice for all citizens of the state. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” YASEEN AYAZ SHAHANI Lahore